View report page

For the twelfth year there were no cases of diphtheria notified. The
immunisation against this disease continues to occupy a large place in
the work of the department, both in children attending Infant Welfare
Centres and Schools in the Borough.
During the year the work of the department increased considerably
with excursions into the field of social medicine. The care of the aged,
with all the complications of geriatric services, kept the staff very well
occupied. In addition, the Co-ordinating Conferences for the Prevention
of the Break-up of Families were held regularly, and arising out of these,
a considerable degree of social work, involving the Health Visitors, the
County Council's Social Worker, and the Women's Voluntary Service,
was undertaken.
At these Conferences, the presence of a representative of the Corporation's
Housing Department has been of the utmost value. Many of the
problems arising at the Conferences were associated with housing, and it
is sad to recall that so many years after the war, a great amount of unhappiness
and hardship is still experienced through the inadequate housing
of many families.
In some cases, re-housing in New Towns has given young people a
fresh start in life, free from "in-law" problems. Some cases have also
been re-housed within the Borough, to enable children, for the first time,
to enjoy the benefits of a garden and the society of their parents, without
other interference. This new beginning, too, has enabled young married
people to appreciate each other better, and has prevented, in some
instances, a deterioration in the husband and wife relationship, with the
threat of a family break up.
It is also unfortunate to record that a few old people living alone,
have shown a complete lack of a spirit of co-operation with those willing
and anxious to help them. In the year under review two such cases were
removed, under Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, through a
Magistrate's Order. The circumstances in which these poor old people
had allowed themselves to drift, made such an action imperative.
The fire at the Grange Mansion, which disrupted the whole of the
County Council's clinic services, was commented upon in last year's
report, and the new deployment of the services throughout the town was
given prominence.
During the year under review, plans for providing, under one roof, a
unified comprehensive clinic, were discussed by the County Council, and
also by the Borough Council. Agreement has been reached for the
provision of a comprehensive new clinic adjacent to, and on the south
side of the Town Hall, on a plot being acquired by the Beddington and
Wallington Corporation, at the corner of Shotfield and Stanley Park
Road. This area comprises approximately one acre, and gives ample
opportunity for spacious clinic development.
It is hoped that the architectural design will be in keeping with the
Town Hall, and the new work being contemplated by the Corporation
comprising an additional storey to the present Library building. The
gardens will be re-designed, and it is hoped to achieve a pleasant vista
from Stanley Park Road, looking down to the ornamental fish pond.
9