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Section 50
This section of the Act requires the Council to arrange for
burial or cremation of a person dying in the Borough where there
are no relatives or friends prepared to accept the responsibility.
Where appropriate, the Council's costs, inclusive of administrative
expenses, are recoverable from the deceased's estate.
During the year, two burials were arranged at the request of
the Coroner's Officer, one being that of a still-born child whose
body was recovered from the Thames on 8th March 1958. The
other burial was that of a man aged 67 who died at his lodgings on
6th April 1958. It was believed that the deceased had a surviving
son but all efforts to trace him proved to be fruitless. Expenses
incurred by the Council in this case were reimbursed by the Ministry
of Pensions and National Insurance in the payment of a death grant.
Insofar as this Borough is concerned, it is pleasant to be able
to report that during 1958 no bodies of suicides were recovered on
the Thames foreshore.
Public Health (London) Act 1936, Section 122
The Council are authorised to remove and cleanse personal
effects where the Medical Officer considers that the condition of such
articles is likely to cause the spread of infectious disease.
During the year, the Medical Officer visited the homes of 41
old people who were seriously ill or senile. Quantities of soiled
bedding and personal clothing were found in each case and it was
necessary for these articles to be regularly collected for cleansing
in the Disinfecting Station and returned to the owners.
Municipal Club
For a number of years, the Public Health Committee have been
conscious of the ever increasing problem of the care of old people.
Sufficient evidence was produced by the Welfare Assistants to show
that, in addition to the Meals on Wheels service, there was need for
a club which could provide hot mid-day meals to elderly persons
who were not housebound and, therefore, did not come within the
scope of the service. There were many individuals, living a solitary
existence, who found that, apart from the expense involved, it had
become too much of an effort to cook a daily meal for themselves
and they had gradually adopted a regular diet of bread, margarine
and tea. This is frequently the case when a man loses his wife and
finds great difficulty in fending for himself. A diet of this kind
rapidly causes deterioration in mind and body and, if not supplemented,
often produces a condition from which there is little
likelihood of recovery.
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