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70
Domiciliary Services
Meals on Wheels Service
The Borough Council appointed a Meals on Wheels Organiser
and assumed responsibility for the provision of meals for the meals
on wheels service in the Kingston and Surbiton districts on the 21st
March, and from then until the end of the year a total of 19105 meals
were produced and were delivered with the help of voluntary organisations.
During the year the average number of meals increased from 459 a week
to 593 a week. Maiden and Coombe Old People's Welfare Committee
continued to provide and deliver meals to the Maiden area, and these
were augmented from our kitchen towards the end of the year.
The position has now been reached where the cooking facilities
at the meals on wheels kitchen are at saturation point, and a scheme of
adaptations has been provided for in the revenue estimates for the coming
year„ In addition to this, the voluntary organisations have experienced
great difficulties over the delivery of meals, and provision has been
made for the purchase and equipping of a special meals on wheels van.
By the end of the year meals were available in Maiden and
Surbiton districts of the borough on five days a week and three days
a week in Kingston. In addition meals were provided from the kitchen
for the disabled persons attending the Occupational Therapy Unit at
Westbury Road, New Maiden.
The Kingston Women's Royal Voluntary Service are responsible
for the delivery of the meals in the Kingston district, and the British
Red Cross Society in Surbiton. The Surbiton Old People's Welfare
Committee and the Maiden and Coombe Old People's Welfare Committee also
continued to produce meals independently for their Day Centres.
The extension of this service is considered vital to the
proper conduct of the welfare services and whilst continuing to make
full use of the voluntary workers who have hitherto given so generously
of their time, it is envisaged that the Borough Council will find it
necessary during the coming year to consider assuming responsibility
for the delivery of nany of the meals required.
WELFARE OF THE HANDICAPPED
A register of physically handicapped persons is maintained in
accordance with Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948, whereby
a local authority has power to make arrangements for promoting the welfare
of those persons who are blind, deaf or dumb, and others who are substantially
and permanently handicapped by illness, injury, congenital
deformity or any other disability that may be prescribed by the Minister
of Health. This register is in several sections.