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The various authorities with responsibilities for the care of the aged, infirm and chronic sick are
Regional Hospital Boards, Local Health Authorities, Local Sanitary Authorities, General Medical
Practitioners and the National Assistance Board. The line of demarcation between the chronic sick and
the infirm is very indefinite and a decision has to be made before welfare authority or hospital will act.
Most are reluctant to go to hospital or institution and pending persuasion or the finding of a vacancy the
home help service has to shoulder the responsibility. At present 70 per cent, of the time of the home helps
is given to the care of the aged, infirm, chronic sick and incurable in their own homes. The length of time
that a home help may be required for these cases seems to be till death or occasionally till admission to
hospital or institution—often a matter of months and even years. Many of the aged are unable to handle
their financial affairs and in the absence of relatives no one appears to have any responsibility in this matter.
The washing of bed linen is often a heavy task for those caring for the aged and incurable, and there is
urgent need for some type of laundry facility to deal with this problem.
The care of the aged, infirm and chronic sick is a growing task. The first principle should be the
care of old people by their own relatives in their own homes. While this is "morally right and economically
essential "there is an urgent need for some method of co-ordinating the functions of the various authorities
so that appropriate action can be taken speedily and effectively.
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