View report page

13
NATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT. 1948. SECTION 50
Fourteen funerals were carried out under this Act at
a total cost of £130.8s.3d. An amount of £91.5s.3d. was
recovered from the estates of the deceased or from relatives.
In 10 instances the full amount of the funeral expenses was
recovered and in 3 cases the expenses were written off as
irrecoverable. In one case which had been referred to the
Treasury Solicitor, the claim for reimbursement of expenses
was still outstanding at the end of the year.
DISINFECTION AND DISINFESTATION
Contrary to our experience in recent years, the
volume of work in connection with disinfection increased during
1958. The number of rooms disinfested after vermin was 389,
and the rooms disinfected after infectious disease 154:12
parcels of clothes were disinfected prior to despatch abroad;
22 filthy and verminous rooms were cleared after the death or
removal of the occupant. Regular visits are paid to 2 hospitals
for the disinfection of wards and laundry. Sixteen wasp nests
were destroyed.
PUBLIC HEALTH LAUNDRY
The work of the laundry, which deals with the bedding,
clothing, etc. of incontinent persons, is also carried out by
the disinfecting staff. During 1958, the first complete year
in which the laundry has been in operation, a total of 10.347
articles was dealt with. The number of people using the laundry
service at any one time varied from 22 to 31.
HOME SAFETY
Section 82 of the London County Council (General
Powers) Act, 1957 conferred upon Borough Councils the power to
make arrangements for the dissemination of information and
advice on precautions to be taken for avoiding the occurrence
of accidents in the home.
As one of the most vulnerable groups for accidents is
the elderly, all the clubs and associations dealing with the
care of the elderly were written to and the services of a
lecturer offered. One club replied that they had already
arranged for a lecturer from the Royal Society for the Prevention
of Accidents and arrangements were made for Mr. Nicklin, Public
Health Inspector to give a talk, illustrated with a film strip,
to two other clubs.