[Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Glasgow.

  • Glasgow (Scotland)
Date:
1959
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Glasgow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    33/410 (page 31)
    Welfare. The number of small homes for the accommodation of old people remains at 18, including Burnbank, the home for the frail ambulant and the two specially designed homes, Merrylee and Windlaw. The total residential accommodation available is 1,645 comprising 506 places in the small homes, 647 in Foresthall, and 492 in Crookston. During the year improvements in the amenities, decoration and furnishings at Foresthall have been continued. Among the alterations completed is a covered corridor from the administrative block to the men’s dining room and the catering department, the installation of a new hoist in the kitchen block to permit of the speedy distribution of food, consulting room accommodation for the doctor for Part III residents and the adaptation and equipping of an X-ray department. Improvements in some of the hospital wards have included refurnishing, curtaining and the provision of cubicles in certain of the wards. The concert hall, which was too large for the number attending entertainments, has been divided into three. An improved stage has been erected in the new hall, and part of the former concert hall was reconstructed to provide a chapel. The improved concert hall is so acceptable to the staff that they have formed their own concert party and entertain the residents during the winter. Work has continued in the west section of the hospital, and new kitchen equipment has been installed early in 1960. At Crookston the cottages continue to house those who although not fit enough to live completely independent lives need the minimum of care. There are 136 cottages available for single persons and couples. Frognal, the holiday home near Troon, has been fully occupied during the year, the residents in all the Department’s homes having the opportunity of at least two weeks’ holiday each year. It has also been possible to offer a fortnight’s holiday to handicapped persons, including the blind, deaf and dumb. All guests are transported by bus from Glasgow to Frognal and returned to town a fortnight later. The home accommodates 30 residents, and even those who cannot get far afield enjoy the delightful house and the beautiful grounds and gardens. The number of handicapped persons on the Department’s register at the end of the year was 1,756, the majority suffering from eye and ear defects and physical infirmities.