View report page

9
REMOVAL OF PERSONS IN NEED OF CARE AND
ATTENTION, Section 47, National Assistance Act, 1948
During the year there were 26 cases of old people in need of care
and attention reported, and each one was visited by the District Sanitary
Inspector. In no case was it found necessary to take action under
Section 47 of the National Assistance Act.
It was possible in all of the very urgent cases to arrange admission
to hospital within a short time through co-operation with the Regional
Hospital Board. The County Welfare Department also co-operated
well in providing residential accommodation for suitable cases.
FOOD
With the welcome reduction in the volume of work necessary to
deal with housing defects it has been possible to devote more attention
to the supervision of the preparation and handling of food. Steady
progress has been made in securing improvements in this type of
premises, and there are now no establishments in the district which
are considered to be really unsatisfactory. Naturally, many of the
older premises fall short of what is considered desirable, but good
management usually compensates for structural inadequacies.
The question of the unsatisfactory condition in which meat and
bacon is often delivered to butchers' and grocers' shops has again
received much attention. However, any improvement in the method
of transport and handling is likely to increase the retail price of meat.
With the present-day high prices, and the reluctance of housewives to
pay any more, it is inevitable that considerations of cost weigh heavily
when handling arrangements are reviewed. Another unsatisfacory
feature of existing arrangements is the difficulty in allocating blame
when the meat passes through so many hands. Paradoxically, the best
quality meat is unwrapped!
The question of the open-fronted fish shop received some attention
during the year. There are many advantages in this type of display,
but there is some difficulty in complying with the provisions of the
Food Byelaws, especially where traders persist in displaying their
wares as near to the pavement as possible, where they may be the
subject of investigation by dogs and young children, in addition to
receiving a good share of the street dust, dirt and splashing. Fortunately,
such commodities are almost invariably washed by the housewife, in
whose hands the safety of the domestic food supply is finally secured.
HOUSING
It will be seen from the statistical data available elsewhere in this
Report that there were slightly fewer complaints received in connection
with items of disrepair. Many old properties have had a new lease of
life given to them on account of the substantial war damage repairs
carried out.