View report page

88
WELFARE OF AGED PERSONS
With the continued ageing trend of the population, welfare of old people
becojnes more and more a social service of increasing importance. The statutory
duties of a local sanitary authority, as opposed to those of a local health and
welfare authority, are limited, but in actual practice much work in this field
is done in Hackney by the Council as well as by local voluntary agencies. The
problems associated with growing old are many and it is no easy task to provide
the assistance which old people require to enable them to maintain a reasonable
standard of living and also to retain that independence of spirit which they so
ardently cherish. The worker in this branch of social service must, in
addition to many other qualities, be endowed with tact, as gaining the confi
dence of the aged person is of the utmost importance. Many aged persons
readily take offence when it is suggested to them that there is, for example, a
bathing service at their disposal - they resent the implication that their own
level of personal cleanliness is low, though that may well be the case
The statutory powers for in certain circumstances, the compulsory removal
of aged persons from their own homes are, of course, essential but in practice
authorities and their officers are extremely loth to use these powers, and in
the vast majority of cases where removal is essential it can be brought about
voluntarily by persuasion. In most cases old people do long to spend the
eventide of their lives in their own homes, and from the point of view of the
State this is more economical than the provision of many units of residential
accommodation. The many services, such as welfare visiting, meals-on wheels,
chiropody and bathing, which are now available do make it possible for many old
people, who otherwise would have to be removed, to continue to live in their
own homes., There are, however, a number of cases where removal to a geriatric
unit of a hospital or to an old people's home is the only solution as the
physical or mental condition of the person makes it impossible for him to
manage on his own even with the services available. Regarding the admission
of old people to a hospital or to a home, we in this Department continue to
receive the wholehearted co-operation of the staff of the geriatric unit of the
Hackney Hospital and also of the staff of the Welfare Department of the London
County Council.
The Hackney Association for the Welfare of Old People plays a part of
paramount importance in the welfare of aged persons in this Borough The
continuing close liaison which exists between this Organisation and the staff
of the Public Health Department results in many of the problems concerning old
people being solved without recourse to statutory action. We also continue to
receive the utmost co operation from the home help service of the London County
Council and from the Hackney District Nursing Association and it will be
readily appreciated that these two services do play parts of vital importance
in the welfare of the elderly
NATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT, 1948
SECTION 31 (Contributions to old people's organisations), This section
empowers a local authority to make contributions to the funds of any voluntary
organisation whose activities consist in or include the provision of recreation
or meals for old people
HACKNEY ASSOCIATION FOR THE WELFARE OF OLD PEOPLE In the year ending
31st March,, 1956 the Council made a contribution of £850 to this voluntary
organisation. The Association is represented on the Central Consultative Com
mittee for the Welfare of the Aged, and the following are extracts from the
Association s Annual Report for the year ending 31st March, 1956.
"We are glad to report another year of full activity in the interests
of the Elderly Polk of Hackney A full year s experience of the services
of our Secretary Mrs R E Varney, has proved of value and it is good to
report a year of comparatively smooth working