[Report 1961] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C.

  • Liskeard (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1961
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1961] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    is strongly entrenched. I think more might be done to encourage non-smokers by greater restrictions on smoking in public transport, places of entertain¬ ment, and other situations in which the non-smoker has no choice but to inhale smoke polluted atmosphere which is normal in the majority of such places. I should also like to see more use made of the mass media of com¬ munication, particularly television, to counter the subtle and very persuasive publicity being put across by the tobacco industry. Is it too much to hope that some of the huge revenue from the excise duty on cigarettes might be diverted to such a purpose ? There was some improvement in the prevalence of tuberculosis infection in the Health Area during 1961, when the number of new cases notified fell to 21 as compared with 33 new cases in 1960. I am not inclined to feel complacent about this welcome reduction in new notifications as a similar fall in 1957 to exactly the same figure of 21. cases was followed by sharp rises in the two succeeding years. I have drawn attention previously to the suspicion we have that a good deal of unrecognised tuberculous infection — a reservoir of this infection — is present in people past middle age. People in this age group unfortunately are most resistant to suggestion and advice that they should have chest X-ray examination. I think this attitude is founded on the erroneous belief that if one survives to middle age or old age then one cannot have tuberculosis. This is not at all the case, and if we accept the age of 45 years as the beginning of middle age then in 1961 no less than 10 of the new cases of tuberculosis notified in this Health Area were aged 45 years or more at the time of notification. In face of this I must reiterate that the risk of contracting and suffering from tuberculosis does not dis¬ appear or even lessen with advancing years, and that in their own interest as well as in the interest of relations and friends with whom they live and associate those over 45 years of age should take every advantage of any available opportunity to have the condition of their chests checked by X-ray examination. The increased proportion of old people in the community continues to pose problems. At the present time the deficiency in the social service directed towards the elderly which is causing most concern is the shortage of hospital beds for the chronic sick and the aged. When old people living alone fall ill there is generally no alternative to removal to hospital. Unless however, their disease or disability is of an acute nature and dangerous to life, it is usually necessary for some weeks to elapse between the time the bed is applied for and the vacant bed becomes available. Whilst some assistance can be given by the district nursing services, and the home help service, this is necessarily limited in extent and if, as often happens, no close relatives live in the vicinity, the old person has to be left alone for much of the time. It is inevitable that from time to time such old, ill people when left alone will suffer a sudden, and perhaps fatal deterioration in their condition, or may become involved in an accidental fall or in a fire. Until such time as more adequate provision of hospital beds for the elderly can be achieved, then we must accept the fact that tragedies will happen. Some years ago when the workhouse of the old Poor Law days was still a reality in the minds of the elderly most of them were suspicious of and resistant to the efforts of Welfare Officers to help them. However the greatly improved standards of welfare accommodation in old folks homes, and even in institutions housed in old workhouse buildings has become generally known and many old people who find that age and infirmity makes it difficult for them to look after themselves are willing to enter such welfare accommodation as can be offered to them. Indeed, in spite of the fact that the opening of new welfare homes has in recent years provided many additional places there is almost