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The allocation of the extra vehicles to their operational work
was as follows: One Bedford Duple Tail Lift coach (seating 25
and fitted with special seat harnesses designed to aid the trans—
portation of handicapped children to the Special Care Unit at
Maze Hill Training Centre) and one Bedford Duple Tail Lift
coach to transport handicapped people to the Federation Hall
and Riverdale Combined Centres. These two coaches were
planned, using the experience gained in the previous two years,
to give increased seating and wheelchair carrying capacity, the
Combined Centres coach having a flexible seating and wheelchair
arrangement, i.e. 19 + 2 wheelchairs—17 + 3 wheelchairs—
15 + 4 wheelchairs—13 + 5 wheelchairs. This was made
possible by using tip-up side-facing seats on the nearside and
this proved a great improvement over the coaches already
operating. Various factors determine the size of coaches and the
tail lift position and these could differ in other London Boroughs,
i.e. in heavily congested built-up areas a coach should not
exceed 23 ft. in length and the chassis must have a good turning
circle. Side loading tail lifts could be a disadvantage in areas
with heavy side street vehicles parking.
Meals on Wheels
The number of vehicles used for this service was increased
by one but as this replaced the vehicle previously operated by
the British Red Cross, the total number of rounds operated
remained at 17, similar to the previous year.
The total number of miles covered by the Department's vehicle
fleet during the year reached a total of 543,544.
POST ENTRY TRAINING
This year, post entry training arrangements for the department
largely followed the general trends which have evolved since
1965, with continued support for courses designed to provide
both background education and vocational training. However,
there was an increase in the number of short management
courses attended by the administrative staff and in the total
number of educational and professional conferences attended.
Three Social Workers were seconded on full-time study courses
of one or two years duration commencing Autumn 1968 and
leading to professional qualifications.
In addition to the courses listed below, the department was
responsible for training 6 student Public Health Inspectors and
10 student District Nurses. Seven students qualified as Health
Visitors in 1968 and a further nine students commenced health
visitor training. "In-service" training courses were provided for
19 Child Helps.