View report page

Care of Old People.
The general routine work of the Department in relation to the
aged continued along the lines which have been described in previous
reports. Numerous health and social problems have been referred to
the Health Department from many sources. The basic aim is to prevent
physical deterioration and breakdown by providing help through the
service which are concerned with the welfare of old people, and also
enlisting the co-operation of the old persons themselves.
Perhaps, however, the greatest step forward during the year was
the consideration given to the future long-term plans to help the old
people in Battersea. It became apparent during the year that if more
was to be done, more money would have to be provided, and accordingly
the Borough Council increased its grant payable to the Battersea Old
People's Welfare Committee up to £3,000 in the financial year ending
March 1961. At the same time, considerable thought was given to the
best way by which the purely social work in relation to old people could
be carried out, and as a result the existing Old People's Welfare Committee
was reconstituted, and the new Committee had its first meeting
on the 7th November, 1960. The new Committee draws its members
from a very wide field, and includes representatives of practically every
service and agency who may be concerned with the health and welfare
of old People. It is thus a very broadly based Committee, and its
members are able to draw on a wide and comprehensive wealth of
experience. There is no doubt that in the years to come this will