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the borough council is strongly represented in that, in addition to the
Mayor being President, on the executive committee of that association
it has four members of its public health committee (two elected and
two coopted), one other member, and further, the Borough Treasurer
is the honorary treasurer of the association and I am its honorary
medical adviser. The association, towards the end of the year, decided
to appoint a wholetime organising secretary and Miss L. H. Ellis, who
has had a large experience of social welfare work, was selected and took
up her duties at the very beginning of 1950. To help the association
still further the council agreed to office accommodation being found for
the organising secretary in the health department, in return for a nominal
rental."
"The Lewisham Old People's Welfare Association besides being a
coordinating body for the work for old people in the borough, has
executive functions. The main one of these is the Meals on Wheels
service for which there is one van in existence now and for which there
will be two vans a little later in 1950. Other functions are the ascertainment
of old people, particularly those in need such as the house-bound;
help in the formation of luncheon clubs, with the possibility of a
chiropody service being included; friendly visiting of old people (which
will normally be, it is hoped, through the agency of other old people's
organisations in the borough, but some of which will have to be an
executive duty of the association); the possible formation of a care
committee (which might be the welfare committee of the association, or a
sub-committee of that committee) to help old people in cash or kind or
advice. For the future, when the association is on a sound financial
footing and can extend, it has in mind the question of homes, more
particularly a holiday home where old people can get away for two
weeks or so at much expected benefit to themselves and also in some
cases to the benefit of relatives who look after them for the rest of the
year, and secondly, residential homes on an almost selfsupporting basis
where old people can have their own apartments and yet have the
addition of some communal services if they so desire."
"In effect therefore considerable progress was made during the year
on the care of old people in the borough, but possibly it could be said
that the progress was relatively greater on the administrative side,
i.e., on the setting up the machinery, than on the actual executive side, i.e.
work in the field. There is no reason however, now that the machinery
has been reasonably well assembled, that the field work should not
increase rapidly. The two main requirements are sufficient financial
support and sufficient voluntary effort. The borough council can help
the former, but additional financial help will without doubt be required,
and an almost unlimited amount of voluntary effort can be absorbed."
"The care of old people now is in some ways in a rather similar
position to the care of babies and young people some 30 years ago.
Before the advent of the Maternity and Child Welfare Act of 1918 a
great amount of work had been done for infants and mothers by
voluntary effort, and in fact the voluntary workers were the pioneers in
such activities. In the same way care for old people is starting with a
great deal of voluntary effort and this will probably need to continue