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34
London boroughs. There are many difficulties with regard to starting
such workshops in an outer London dormitory borough such as this,
but these difficulties would not apply to handicraft classes and if the
work turned out at such classes were good enough it would have a
saleable value of its own. Unfortunately most of the clubs found it
impracticable to get sufficient of their members interested in the scheme
to allow a qualified teacher to be obtained for them, but one or two clubs
are still making efforts in this direction.
The health department during the year continued to take a
detailed interest in the work for old people generally and remained in
the closest touch with the Lewisham Old People's Welfare Association
(LOPWA), which Association has offices in the department. LOPWA
is, so far as the borough council's work for old people's welfare is
concerned, the main body in the area and has affiliated to it the various
other bodies to which the Council makes grant. LOPWA is responsible
for the meals-on-wheels service to housebound old people, and during
the year ended 31 March 1960, 22,836 meals were delivered. In addition
the WVS delivered 4,133 in one area of the borough.
Visiting of old people
Three nurses (officially called Women Health Officers) are concerned
with old people and with infectious disease. Their work for old people
is tabulated as follows:—

The chronic sick
There is unfortunately little to report on progress towards a geriatric
unit or an increased number of beds for the chronic sick in the
borough. It can only be said that all hope of these being brought
about is not yet dead, and representations are still being made.
Facilities for the aged, generally
During the year the King Edward Hospital Fund set up a committee
to review the services for old people in this borough with a view
to ascertaining whether any of such services should be strengthened or
whether additional services were required. Lewisham was chosen for
two main reasons: first, because although the services were in some
respects (for example, the geriatric unit) less than in many other
boroughs it was maintained by the hospital and other authorities that