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afford to the latter a wide range of good neighbourly
services. One of the added functions will be the raising
of funds from various charitable sources and the assistance
of old people, in suitable cases, by small monetary
grants or their equivalent in food and other requirements
needed for their comfort. Although the state is now responsible
for a wide range of statutory services for old
people, it is considered essential that each local community
should interest itself in the deprived old people
who are living in their midst.
The joint Clean Food Campaign with Erith and
Crayford goes forward slowly but steadily and good
progress has been made in what is essentially a long
term health education project. In May, 1951 a clean
food exhibition was held and was reasonably well supported
by the general public. Organised parties of school
children from the three areas visited the exhibition and
lectures and film shows were given. Codes of Practice
have now been formulated for all the main food trades
and applications for membership have been received from
98 food traders, of which 19 have been approved to date.
There is still a great deal of work to be done in this sphere
during the next few years to bring into membership the
majority of the food traders in the area. An attractive
plaque has now been prepared which, we hope, will
become more and more familiar to the public as it
appears in increasing numbers in the windows and on the
premises of food establishments of the Borough.
The prevention of accidents in the home is being
recognised more and more as coming within the realm of
preventive medicine and therefore a legitimate field of
endeavour for the public health authorities. This matter
can best be dealt with by a partnership of local health
authority, local authority and the local Road Safety
Committees, whose functions could be enlarged to cover
by means of a sub-committee this important part of the
work of accident prevention in general. Preliminarv steps
to achieve this end have been taken locally and it is
hoped that further developments will take place during
1952.
The research into the epidemiology of health which
has been carried out by the Kent Paediatric Society,
through the Bexley Health Department, in connection
with Bexlev school children, during the past three years,
is progressing well and is now entering its final stages.
It is hoped that a report will be published about the end
of *1952.
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