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The modern purpose-built Home is much more comfortable and very much easier to run than the converted
building, and in the long run a more economical proposition. The position has now been reached
where it is no longer possible to define clearly a case suitable for Part III accommodation or a case
suitable for a geriatric ward. Consequently, the burden imposed on the staff in Part III Homes is
becoming heavier all the time as residents grow older and deteriorate further. The devotion of the staff
has been exemplary and the grateful thanks of the residents and of the community as a whole is no less
than their due.
Incidentally, it is worth recording that the department has been requested to provide training
facilities and observation visits for a very wide range of both graduates and students.
I have nothing but praise for my colleagues in the Health and Welfare Department. The members
of the department have carried out their duties in a most satisfactory manner, very often in the face of
difficulties arising from staff shortages. The work has proceeded much more easily than it might otherwise
have done because of the willing co-operation of many general practitioners and many members
of the staffs of the hospitals in the borough. It is also necessary to place on record the debt of gratitude
due to the various voluntary agencies who co-operate so readily in the work of the Health and Welfare
Department, and in this connection I would like particularly to mention the four Old People's Associations,
the British Red Cross Society and the Women's Royal Voluntary Service.
Finally, it would not be fit to close without expressing my gratitude for the unstinting help and
encouragement received from the Chairmen and Members of the Health and Welfare Committees.
Their help has been most valuable.
O. C. DOBSON,
Medical Officer of Health.