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room facilities, or just to meet their friends and talk, but many social occasions
are provided for them in the way of concerts, whist drives, etc. A television
set is installed in the lounge, and a radiogram in the concert hall.
Light refreshments are available in the afternoon. This club also arranges
three summer outings on which about 100 travel each time, and an annual Christmas
party to which all the members are invited - the majority attend.
Through this club the members are also able to obtain information about the
special services at reduced rates which are available within the Borough for
them, such as laundry, shoe repairs and hairdressing, and they can be given
advice on any difficulties that occur in their private lives.
This is the only club premises open daily for the use of old age pensioners
but there are 9 clubs meeting in different parts of the Borough once a week to
which mobile old age pensioners become attached as members, for social and recreational
purposes.
Slipper Baths
Under the scheme for the provision at the reduced rates (2d. per bath) of
slipper baths for old people at the Public Baths Establishments, 1,908 baths
were taken in Chiswick and 553 in Brentford.
Meals on Wheels
The service of meals provided by the Invalid Meals for London has proved
immensely useful and very popular. These meals were provided on five days per
week and special diets could be obtained, i.e. in the case of old people suffering
from gastric ulcers, diabetes, etc. The cost of the meal to the old age
pensioner receiving it is tenpence and this is supplemented by a grant from the
Borough Council to cover part of the remainder of the cost of the meal, overheads
and transport are provided by the Invalid Meals for London itself by means
of funds raised by voluntary effort.
Persons in need of this service and eligible for it were brought to the
notice of the staff of the Public Health Department and a certificate signed by
the Medical Officer of Health for those who were to be authorised to receive
the meals. Unfortunately the number of genuinely needy cases found increased
rapidly as the service became known. The main reasons for the need are incapacity
following ill-health or hospital treatment lack of cooking facilities,
and for old people living alone with the genuine risk of starvation by abstention
from food of sufficient nourishing quality. The result was that the
waiting list began to grow and by the end of the year amounted to 61 persons.
During the year 13,808 meals were provided for 73 old people.
Laundry for the Incontinent Aged
From various sources enquiries have been made from time to time about the
difficulties experienced in obtaining laundry for the incontinent aged, particularly
from the hospital almoners and from the Home Help Organiser. In the
autumn, it was agreed by the Borough Council that an assisted laundry scheme
would be put into operation. Old people in need of the service were to be
notified to the Public Health Department and, if considered suitable, arrangements
would be made for the department's van to call each week and collect the
laundry, deliver it to Spring Grove Laundry which was willing to co-operate in
the scheme, and transport the laundry after servicing back again to the old
person's dwelling. No charge was to be made for this service but a certificate
for each case was to be submitted to the Public Health Committee.
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