[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Wigan County Borough.

  • Wigan (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Wigan County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/136 (page 9)
    It is inevitable that the reactions of the aged should be slow and their judgement of distance and speed impaired. Perhaps we need some publicity directed at both motorists and aged pedestrians. Why should luminous articles of outer clothing be limited to children, when the aged are as vul¬ nerable and more likely to be about the streets in the dark evenings. Our experience in the commoner infectious diseases has been un¬ remarkable except for an outbreak of whooping cough which occurred in the last quarter of the year. Some details are given on page 78 and the opinion is expressed that we were experiencing a variant of the causal organism which was not as susceptible to the protective vaccine in current use. In July the Department of Plealth and Social Security recommended a scheme for the vaccination of girls aged 11 to 14 against Rubella (German Measles) which is acknowledged as a major threat to women of child-bearing age because of its damaging effect on the unborn child. Arrangements are in hand to vaccinate girls in the appropriate age groups and at the time of v/riting the take-up is encouraging. ’Tire welfare problems associated with the increasing proportion of frail aged persons which was highlighted in last year’s report are not mat¬ erially improved. There is a waiting list of some 99 cases for hostel place¬ ment and the special plight of the handicapped, both young and aged, living at home, often alone, is a continuous challenge to our community health and welfare services. To this end we welcome the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act which came onto the statute book during the year. This is the first act of Pariament entirely devoted to the cause of the long-term sick and disabled. Whilst the legislation underlines much of what we have attempted over the years its effect when fully implemented wall be far reaching, both in terms of benefit to the recipient and cost to the authority. The family service project ‘Operation Phoenix’ was completed in July 1969 and a seperate report has been published It constituted a major ex¬ ercise in social engineering. The follow-up has been instructive.. Three- quarters of the families have responded significantly to the intensive case work lavished upon them and in the words of the family case worker “Collectively they are now a dominant influence in the area instead of being dominated by the area.” The Mental Health Service has been under especially heavy pressure. Shortage of long-stay pyschiatric or pyscho-geriatric beds in the hospital service on the one hand, coupled with lack of specialised hostel facilities in the community, has necessitated intensification of the day care services. A courageous experiment involving the selective rehabilitation of young mentaUy-ill persons in flats has helped to relieve hospital and hostel beds. We are especially indebted to the Housing Department and its chief officer for co-operation in this matter.