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12. The main significance of Table IV is that, increasingly, the
residential home is concerned with those in what is sometimes
described as the "very old" group. This table and those which
precede it take into account, of course, only the local authority
homes. But the same pattern is apparent in those voluntary homes
whose main or sole purpose is the care of the elderly.
Short-Term and Day Care
13. As well as providing permanent residential care, the authority
has allocated a number of beds in the homes for the short term care
of elderly people normally residing in their own homes or in
relatives' homes. This is a policy encouraged by the memorandum
issued by the Ministry of Health in September, 1965, on "Care of
the Elderly in Hospitals and Residential Homes".

14. Further assistance is given to the elderly persons living in the
community by the provision of day care facilities at some of the
homes. The elderly are brought to the home, in relatives' cars, by
voluntary drivers or in the department's own special vehicle, to
spend the day with the residents of the home. A mid-day meal and,
often, tea, is provided and all the facilities of the home are available,
including bathing and hairdressing, before the return to their
own homes. A few express a desire to become permanent residents
after attending homes under these day care arrangements, but the
majority continue to remain in their own homes longer with this
kind of support.
Voluntary Services in the Residential Homes
15. It is a pleasurable duty to take this opportunity of recording
appreciation to those individuals and members of voluntary
organisations who do so much to brighten the lives of residents by
bringing some of the outside world to them. Trolley shops run
by members of the British Red Cross Society and the Women's
Royal Voluntary Service; morning coffee and afternoon tea served
by members of the local Women's Institutes; entertainments and
fetes organised by Friends of the Homes; the innumerable kindnesses
shown by thoughtful neighbours and relatives; and the
enthusiastic help given by school children and others too numerous
to specify. All these are welcome aids in the care of the elderly.
Accommodation Provided by Other Authorities
16. Some Bromley residents choose to apply for admission to a
home run by another local authority, or were accommodated by
the former authority, Kent County Council, in homes which were