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The Health of Barking
of the National Assistance Act, 1948, which provides that it shall be the duty of
certain authorities, of which Barking is one, to cause to be buried or cremated
the body of any person who has died or been found dead in their area, in any case
where it appears to the authority that no suitable arrangements for the disposal
of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the authority.
It is not ancitipated that there will be a large number of such cases, and, in
fact, during the six months that this Act was in operation during 1948, only one
such case did arise.
The Problem of the Aged.
With the improved welfare conditions more of our population is living longer
and remaining in occupation of their long-established homes.
It is our experience that there is a determination which is supreme in tenacity
to refuse to leave the old home, even when chronically ill.
Even the best domestic help service is not adequate for some such cases and the
use of the power of Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, although drastic,
must be implemented on occasions. This power enables the Council through
their officers and with the authority of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction actually
to remove people from their homes who are unable to look after themselves or are not
receiving proper care or attention from other persons.
During the whole of the year 1948, we did not have to exercise this power,
which we always find vastly unpleasant.
The following statistics show the number of aged " residents." It is at least
interesting to note how the female population live longer in each age-group.
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