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27
SANITARY INSPECTION OF THE BOROUGH
caring for and helping old people that action of this kind can be
avoided.
I have referred above to the work of the Wandsworth Old People's
Welfare Council and the Wandsworth Old Folks Trust. It is not
possible to do full justice to these organisations in a short report
such as this but the Annual Report of the Wandsworth Old People's
Welfare Council for the year ending 31st March, 1962, is an impressive
document. In it, the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Mrs.
Olive Haines, presents an account of the way in which grants from
the Wandsworth Borough Council and the London County Council
are utilised. On retirement, for instance, every pensioner receives a
card which records the available services and which can be completed
if any help is needed and this can be obtained from the office of the
Welfare Council at 16 South Side, S.W.4. Under the chairmanship
of Alderman Mrs. A. Bush, the Meals Committee organises the
meals-on-wheels service and the Women's Voluntary Service, under
Mrs. M. Nutting, M.B.E., is responsible for the detailed arrangements.
The success of these arrangements can be gauged by the fact
that there are now five vans in use and 1,000 meals are delivered
each week. The Jordan, Lebanon, Lochinvar and Roehampton
luncheon clubs are now open and enable elderly people to enjoy a
meal in congenial and pleasant surroundings. The aim of the Clubs
Committee, under the chairmanship of Mrs. E. Peacock, M.B.E., is
to ensure that there is a club within easy reach of every old person
and in this way much is done to combat loneliness which is one of
the factors which so often troubles the elderly. At present, there are
38 clubs in the Borough. The pioneer work of Mrs. M. Lumley in
the visiting of old people was continued by the recruiting of voluntary
visitors and, to augment this work, a full-time organiser has now been
appointed. Another feature of the Welfare Council's activities is the
publication monthly of its magazine under the title of The News
which has reached a circulation of about 900 copies. Edited by the
General Secretary of the Association, Mr. A. N. Bransom, this paper
contains news and topics of importance to old people generally and
serves to stimulate comment and interest and thus to open the way
to new ideas and developments.
All in all, the work of these organisations presents an outstandingly
impressive example of voluntary activity in a field of human endeavour,
the importance of which it is difficult to overstate.
Laundering of Bed Linen of Aged and Infirm
The facilities available at the Disinfecting Station for the cleansing
of fouled bed linen and personal effects of aged and incontinent
persons living alone were extended during the year by the installation
of a tumbler drier and the construction of an airing room.
At the beginning of the year collections and washing of bed linen