View report page

65
Housing Committee and voluntary Housing Associations in the
Borough.
WELFARE OF HANDICAPPED PERSONS
32. Section 29 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, provides for
local welfare authorities to promote the welfare of persons who
are blind, deaf or dumb, and other persons who are substantially
and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital
deformity or such other disabilities as may be prescribed by the
Minister. Welfare services in respect of blind persons have been
mandatory since 1948. On the advice of the Minister of Health
schemes for the deaf and other handicapped persons have been
operated by local authorities since 1951 and in 1960 these were
made mandatory.
33. A Committee of Inquiry on the Rehabilitation, Training and
Resettlement of Disabled Persons (the Piercy Committee) reported
in 1957 on the need for the development of services to disabled
persons. The Committee emphasised that more services were
required to provide occupational home work; personal aids;
carrying out structural alterations in disabled persons' homes; and
stressed the need for day clubs or centres for the handicapped. The
Committee focused on the disabled person as a human being and
a social unit and pointed out that there was a need for co-operation
between all agencies, particularly between voluntary and statutory
bodies. It is in the spirit of the recommendations of the Piercy
Committee that the services for the disabled are being developed
in the Borough.
The Register
34. A register of handicapped persons who apply for, or on whose
behalf application is made for assistance, is kept in accordance
with the requirements of the Minister of Health. There were 562
persons registered at 31st March, 1966. The grouping of disabilities
is in accordance with the Medical Research Council code of diseases
and disabilities as used by the Ministry of Labour. Relevant
statistics are produced in Table V.
Social Welfare
35. In order to assist handicapped persons to overcome the effects
of their disabilities, the social workers from the three Area Offices
situated in Orpington, Bromley and Penge. visit the disabled on
the Register regularly. They give advice and guidance on personal
problems and in connection with any services which may be of
benefit whether they be provided by voluntary or statutory agencies.
In pursuance of this policy the social welfare officers made 1,191
visits during the year. Many of these were of an introductory
nature as a first step in ascertaining needs.