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(b) Temporary accommodation for persons who are in urgent
need thereof, being need arising in circumstances which
could not reasonably have been foreseen or in such other
circumstances as the authority may in any particular case
determine.
The National Assistance Act, in contradistinction to the
previous Poor Law Legislation, states that in the exercise of their
duties a local authority shall have regard to the welfare of all
persons for whom accommodation is provided.
Homes for Old People
The newly constituted London Borough of Greenwich took
over this duty from the London County Council on 1st April,
1965, and assumed responsibility for the 271 persons resident in
the four modern purpose-built Old People's Homes situated in
the Borough, namely :—
Perry Grove, Rectory Field Crescent, S.E.7.
Plumstead Lodge, Plumstead Common Road, S.E.I8.
Sunbury Lodge, Sunbury Street, S.E.I8.
Weybourne, 1, Finchdale Road, S.E.2.
In addition, as a temporary expedient until sufficient accommodation
became available in small homes, joint use of the large
Homes formerly managed by the County Council was agreed
upon.
Greenwich was allocated 259 beds in Southern Grove Lodge,
Mile End Road, E.I., situated in the London Borough of Tower
Hamlets and administered by that authority. This allocation,
against which Greenwich protested, has proved quite as inconvenient
as had been expected. When Greenwich residents are
admitted, subsequent visiting by relatives and friends becomes
difficult, costly and time consuming and the remoteness of the
accommodation has prompted some old people into delaying or
refusing admission to Part III accommodation when otherwise it
would have been in their interests to enter a residential home.
Admissions—It is the intention that old people shall be
supported by domiciliary services so that, for as long as possible,
they remain part of the general community. Ultimately, admission
to a residential Home, when and if necessary, is then merely a
continuation of care. Old people living in the Borough who
make enquiries about admission to a Home or who, for other
reasons come to our knowledge, are visited in their own homes
where their future is discussed with them and they are assessed
and advised as to the course most likely to prove to be in their