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This alternative procedure enables the Local Authority or the
Medical Officer of Health, if so authorised by the Council, to remove
urgent cases where delay of even a few hours may prove decisive,
without the necessity of giving 7 days notice.
Orders for removal can be made by a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction or a single Justice on an application certified by the
Medical Officer of Health and another registered general medical
practitioner and where agreement to receive such patients has been
reached with the Hospital or Institution authorities. If necessary,
the court or justice may act ex parte.
Orders so made under the Amendment Act are limited to a
period not exceeding 3 weeks and applications for extension of this
period must be made in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Section 47.
Transported Meals for Old, People.—The "Meals on Wheels"
Service is operated by the local Branch of the British Red Cross
Society under the direction of Mrs. Wigley. The Council has
continued to make a monetary grant towards the cost of transporting
the meals to the homes of the old people. The meals are prepared
at a London County Council kitchen and are subsidised by that
Authority.
During the year, an average of 40 homebound persons had meals
delivered twice weekly; the average number of meals brought to
the homebound was 113; another 139 were delivered weekly to the
various Old People's Clubs throughout the Borough.
Although this service is filling a need and is much appreciated
by those receiving meals, it is capable of expansion and it may be
that there are still many old people in the Borough who would like
a meal delivered but who are unaware of the existence of the scheme.
Continuous efforts are made to publicise the service.
Burial or Cremation of the Dead.—Under Section 50 of
the National Assistance Act, 1948, the Council is required to arrange
for the burial or cremation of any person who has died or has been
found dead in the Borough if in such cases it appears to the Council
that no suitable funeral arrangements have been or are being
made.
The Council is empowered, if it so desires, to recover expenses
for the burial or cremation from the estate of the deceased person or
from any person who, for the purposes of this Act, was liable to
maintain the deceased person immediately prior to his death.
During 1952 arrangements were made under the above Act for
the burial of 5 bodies (3 males and 2 females). The total expenses