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By the end of the year the laundry service, supervised by the
Lady Public Health Inspector, had been extended to 212 separate
individuals and during the current year, the staff at the Cleansing
Station have dealt with 43,773 articles which were collected,
laundered and delivered. This represents an increase of some 44 per
cent over last year.
New Cleansing and Bathing Centre
General—This new cleansing and bathing centre is to provide
for the logical development of services for the elderly citizens of
Greenwich which were commenced on a modest scale in September,
1954. In that year about 5,000 articles from aged, infirm and
incontinent persons were being laundered per annum and a few
carefully selected patients were bathed either in their own homes
or at the old premises. There was, at that time, one ordinary
domestic washing machine in use and laundry and bathing duties
were being performed by one lady attendant. By 1960, such was
the expansion that over 30,000 articles were laundered and nearly
2,000 baths were given in that year. The staff had been increased
to the equivalent of four full-time attendants who were by then
using four large capacity domestic washing machines.
Recent census figures indicate that there are now nearly 12,000
citizens in Greenwich over the age of 65 years, constituting approximately
14 per cent of the populace. This compares with 9.8 per
cent in 1951 and present population trends suggest that by 1977
one citizen in five in this borough will be of pensionable age. It
had, therefore, long been apparent to the Health Committee that the
old premises were inadequate to meet the needs of the rapidly
increasing demands for these services but, because of economic
conditions, it had been found to be impossible greatly to improve
the facilities apart from providing more staff and equipment in a
very restricted space.
At last permission was given by the Government to build a new
centre and this building has been designed specifically to cater for
the cleansing needs of the elderly. Opportunity has been taken
also to provide modern facilities for the cleansing of schoolchildren
and for the treatment of scabies and verminous conditions. It is
hoped that the facilities now provided will meet in the future the
increased needs of an ageing population for certain basic services
which, although perhaps lacking in glamour, are necessary for the
well-being and indeed the self respect of those citizens who become
handicapped or neglected in advanced years.