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and weed killers a lot has been said of their threats to human and animal life, so far
minimal, and in many cases, such as DDT, apparently non-existent. Strangely little is
said of the millions of lives they have saved from starvation and disease, such as
malaria.
HOSTELS FOR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
Recent public anxiety as to conditions in hospitals for the mentally subnormal have
made these hospitals excessively cautious about conditions in their wards, especially
with respect to overcrowding. So cautious in fact that a halt has been called (temporary,
one hopes) to all admissions to the two main such hospitals in the North East Metropolitan
Board area. This makes it even more urgent that hostel accommodation be provided
by the local authority for those who cannot be reasonably accommodated at home,
or have no home, and do not require medical and nursing attention. These severely
mentally subnormal people are on the average quieter and more law-abiding than the
overage citizen and some, such as those with Down's Syndrome (formerly called Mongols)
often attract more affection than their brothers and sisters. It is to be hoped that our
modest efforts to house a few will meet with success. Parents who wonder what will
happen to their handicapped children when they are no longer alive to care for them will
be eternally grateful.
PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
Just two points. After years of discussion and planning with respect of health
centres, although none have yet been built, a number are under discussion, and one, in
the grounds of King George Hospital, is well forward in planning. This would be a
unique and prestige project, for not only is it adjacent to a general hospital, with all the
general practitioners in its neighbourhood working therein, but it would cater for training
medical students and possibly post-graduate doctors receiving vocational training to
become G.P's., and be adjacent to a post-graduate medical centre for all doctors in the
area. The latter projects would not of course be financed by the local authority.
All our home nurses are now attached to G.P. practices with which, in the past,
they have always had a close association. We are limited in our establishment, and one
large practice partnership wanted two nurses attached; we could only let them have one.
An anicable and unusual solution was evolved. The practice appointed their own nurse,
helped in their selection by our superintendent of home nurses from a short list we provided,
at an equivalent salary, and professionally integrated with our home nursing
service. A case of a practice attaching a nurse to the local authority!