‘Distressing Needs Of Aged And Frail’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31124, 29 July 1966, Page 14

‘Distressing Needs Of Aged And Frail’

“The shortage of accommodation for the frail ambulant and the infirm of this city is still distressing,” says the chairman of the Christchurch Aged People’s Welfare Council (Dr. H. R. Donald) in his annual report. “The numbers given are not just dry statistics but represent frail, lonely, and perplexed old people who have been overwhelmed by problems with which they no longer have the strength to grapple.”

Dr. Donald says an independent survey of old people on the council’s waiting lists would be worthwhile if it convinced those in authority that existing accommodation for the elderly was still far from adequate. The shortage of accommodation was by. no means confined to lower-income groups. Mere money could no longer be relied on to purchase security for the elderly. The council had had several offers of generous financial help in the establishment of cottage accommodation integrated with central lounge and diningrooms under a resident warden but action had been deferred pending further talks with the City Council. Such accommodation was suggested for those whose savings excluded them from council cottages. Increasing pressure for admission to residential homes of religious and welfare organisations had arisen from public acceptance of them and the greater life expectation in them.

At Langford House, for instance, the average age of residents has risen from 75 to 81 years, Dr. Donald says. But increased average age brought increased frailty and need for more care. Between the frail needing minor assistance and the infirm needing full care there was an intermediate group needing help in dressing and undressing, bathing and eating. Sometimes they were confused and inconsistent according to emotional environment. Increased attention was being given to this group because, if they could be kept out of an infirm wing, costs would be lower but a subsidy for their maintenance had been suggested. Dr. Donald also mentions groups requiring care but not qualified nursing. It should be remembered, he says, that in other circumstances some in homes would be cared for by relatives or friends.

“One wonders whether the standards required by the Government for the accommodation and staffing of any infirm wing should continue to be tied to those of an obstetric hospital,” says Dr. Donald.