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HEALTH EDUCATION - Posters issued by the Central Council for Health Education
continued to be displayed on the boards formerly used by the Empire Marketing Board.
During the year, the Medical Officer of Health gave talks to several organisations in
the Borough on various aspects of the health services. Though the work of the
department is not primarily educational, the staff are fully aware of the opportunities
given by their contact with the people for drawing attention to matters bearing
on health and hygiene. Other Departments have co-operated by displaying health
educational material.
People will submit to hygienic procedures which do not involve them in any
personal effort, but will avoid anything which demands positive action or initiative
on their part. This is the real problem of health education, but there are indications
that people are beginning to appreciate the importance of personal effort in
the maintenance of health.
PERSONS IN NEED OP CARE AND ATTENTION - Section 47 of the National Assistance
Act, 1948, places the responsibility on the Council of taking action to secure " the
necessary care and attention for persons who:-
(a) are suffering from grave chronic disease or, being aged, infirm or physically
incapacitated are living in insanitary conditions and
(b) are unable to devote to themselves, and are not receiving from other persons,
proper care and attention "
The action to be taken involves application to the Court for an Order for the
compulsory removal of the person concerned to the institution or hospital. The
National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951, shortens the legal procedure for obtaining
an Order " if it is certified by the Medical Officer of Health and another registered
medical practitioner that in their opinion it is necessary, in the interests' of the
person, to remove him without delay:," Before bringing such cases to the notice of
the Council, every effort is made to arrange voluntary admission or for the necessary
care to be given by relatives, friends, etc.
Despite the growing interest of statutory and voluntary agencies in the welfare
of the aged, cases come to the notice of the Department of neglected aged persons
living in insanitary conditions. Such persons are usually most reluctant to accept
assistance or to go to hospital or institution, but fortunately, in most cases, peaceful
persuasion secures their co-operation in some degree and the necessary action can
be taken. In no case was it necessary to seek authority to apply for an Order.
LAUNDRY SERVICE - One of the problems in the care of aged and sick persons in
their own homes is soiled clothing and bed linen. Where washing facilities are poor
and the persons concerned neither have nor can afford assistance, the cleansing of
clothing and bedding presents serious difficulty. In some cases, action under
Section 84 of the Public Health Act, 1936, is the-only solution and the Council has
made arrangements with a laundry firm for the cleansing of articles where the Medical
Officer of Health has issued the certificate required by the Act. The number of
cases in which such action has been necessary is small, but the provision of these
facilities has met a genuine need.
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