The Rushden Tuberculosis After Care Committee

Report for the twelve months, January 1st to December 31st, 1965

The Rushden Tuberculosis After Care Committee presents the report of its activities for the twelve months, January 1st to December 31st, 1965.

The 34th Annual General Meeting was held in the Council Buildings on Tuesday, February 9th.  Dr G.B. Lord presided and we were pleased to welcome the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Mrs D.E. Shrive, deputising for the Chairman who had a previous engagement.  A report of the year’s work was given by the Secretary, Miss A.M. Sharwood, the Receipts and Payments Account was presented by the Treasurer, Mr E. Randall, and Mr T.R. Thacker gave the financial result of the seal sale.  Tributes were paid to the work of the late Dr P.X. Bermingham, Medical Officer of Health for the Rushden district, recalling his sincere character and devotion to duty during a period of adversity.

Officers re‑elected were President, Dr G.B. Lord, Vice Presidents Mr W.E. Capon, Mr H. Whiting and Miss Millgate.  Chairman Visiting Committee Dr O.E. Fisher, Hon. Treasurer Mr E. Randall, Hon. Secretary Visiting Committee Mr H.W. Puddefoot, Joint General Secretaries Miss A.M. Sharwood and Mrs H. Wood.  A popular appointment was that of Mrs V. Thornton as an additional Vice-Chairman.

The Executive Committee which is comprised of 42 members (30 of whom are elected by organisations of the town) has held ten meetings during the year with an average attendance of 29.  In May we mourned the passing of one of our oldest members, Mr J.W. Clifton who served the Committee faithfully for 23 years and for a time was Chairman of the Seal Sale Committee.  Congratulations were offered to Councillor Mrs D.E. Shrive upon her election as Chairman of the local Council.  Mrs Shrive has for some years represented the R.U.D.C. on the Executive Committee, and is a very interested and devoted member.

The widening sphere of care work has again been the aim of the Committee during the year.  Help has been given to sufferers from Tuberculosis, Bronchitis and other chest illnesses and we have continued help to a patient suffering from the after effects of a stroke.

Several Committee members attended the Spring Conference of the Northampton & County T.B. Care Committee held at Raunds on the 3rd of April.  Matters discussed included the care of patients after discharge from mental hospital, the future scope of Care Committees, Mass Radiography and the Mobile X‑ray Unit.  The Autumn Conference was held at the Rushden Hospital for which we were the hosts.  The guest speaker was Dr J.J.A. Reid, County Medical Officer of Health, whose subject was “Perspectives in Health”.

On May 22nd a visit was paid to Spencer Lodge, St Crispen’s Hospital.  The patients enjoyed the tea provided and some of them were able to take part in the community singing.  The visit was felt to be well worth while.

Members of the Visiting Committee have continued the monthly visits to patients and have made recommendations to the Executive Committee of help to be given.  Grants of milk, eggs and groceries have been made, the full grant being 14 pints milk, 6 eggs and 10 shillings grocery per week.   14 Christmas Gift vouchers of £2 each were distributed and 3 patients were sent on recuperative holidays to Cliftonville.  There have been 6 notifications of Tuberculosis and 18 of other chest disorders.  Whilst 9 deaths have been recorded none of them have been from tuberculosis.  9 patients have been taken from the register as recovered.  We are grateful to the Chairman, Dr O.E. Fisher, for his help and also to Mr Puddefoot, Secretary and the members of the Visiting Committee.

In January, 17 patients and families were the guests of the Committee to the Rushden pantomime.  The car ride on July 22nd was much enjoyed by patients and their wives from Rushden and Higham Ferrers.  The ride culminated with supper at Goldington which was provided by a member of the Visiting Committee.

A very happy occasion was the Harvest Festival at the Alfred Street schools arranged by the Head Teacher, Mr R. Lawrence, and Miss Phillips, to which several members of the Committee were invited.  Scholars helped in the distribution of the fruit, vegetables etc. to the Rushden Hospital and to patients in the town.  The gifts were appreciated by the recipients.

Patients in Rushden Hospital have been visited monthly when each has received a cash gift of 10 shillings.

Activities of the year have been:-

The annual tea and concert on January 16th for the patients and staff of the Hospital with the co‑operation of the Higham Ferrers After Care Committee and gifts of money and kind from many friends, was again a happy occasion.  We are grateful to Charles and his band, Mr C. Hones, to the artistes for providing excellent entertainment and to all who assisted in any way.

The “At Home” held at Rushden Hospital on June 14th was an outstanding success, showing a record net profit of £157.  The Mission Band was an attraction and the home-made cake stall was a profitable innovation.

The main financial efforts have again been the factory collection and the seal sale.

The factory collection was taken during the weekend May 7th-10th and showed a satisfactory return of £284.  We thank all contributors, the Shoe Manufacturers’ Association, the Boot & Shoe Operatives Union and all other employers of labour in the town for the co‑operative help.

The seal sale, which raised £352, was launched in November by the distribution of seals to householders in Rushden and Wymington.  The success of the effort is achieved by the co‑operation of many people who help in addressing envelopes, delivering and acting as receiving depots.  To them all we acknowledge our indebtedness.

In spite of bad bowling weather the triples competition attracted a record number of entries.  To the Men’s and Ladies’ Bowls Committee we are most grateful for the gift of £120 and thank them for again organising this profitable and enjoyable event.

Administrative expenses have been refunded by the County Council.  Notice has been received that as from April 1965 administrative expenses up to £100 would be re‑imbursed to Care Committees.

Thanks are expressed to Mr J.T.T. Browning for auditing the accounts, the R.U.D.C. and the Library Committee for the use of rooms, the Press for reports of meetings and Mr A.C.A. Colton and the officers of the Committee for their leadership.

Finally, we thank all organisations and friends who by their support have enabled us to carry on the work of After Care.

Notification of Patients		1965		1964
Notifications of Tuberculosis during the year		6		5
Notifications of other disorders of the chest		18		21
Deaths from Tuberculosis		-		1
Deaths from other disorders of the chest		9		7
Patients removed from the register as recovered from T.B.		9		6
Admissions to Rushden Hospital during the year (2 T.B. and 32 non T.B.)		34		35
Patients in Rushden Hospital 31/12/65 - non T.B.)		3		5
Admissions to Churchill Hospital during the year		4		8
Summary of Grants to Patients		1965		1964
Eggs		6582		5344
Milk (gallons)		1975		1499
Grocery vouchers of 10 shillings each		744		512
Coal (cwt.)		39		8
Christmas Gift Vouchers - £2 each		14		14
Convalescent Holidays		3		3
(Full grant to patient per week 6 eggs, 14 pints milk, 10 shillings grocery) Patients receiving grants 31/12/65 - 24. (10 T.B. and 14 non T.B.)

	A.M. Sharwood
	Hon. Secretary			January 1966

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