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93
WELFARE OF AGED PERSONS
The activities of the Public Health Department relating to aged persons
during the year included the following:-
Persons known to the Department at 31st December, 1958 366
New cases during 1959 153
Persons on register at 31st December, 1959 438
Total visits to aged persons 1,665
Action Taken:-
Admitted to Homes 57
Admitted to Hospital 24
Home Help Service arranged 35
Meals arranged 10
Work in connection with the welfare of aged persons figures prominently
in the day-to-day activities of most of the staff of the Department. The
excellent co-operation which we continue to receive from the Hackney Association
for the Welfare of Old People, the Hackney and District Nursing Association,
and the Home Help Service provided by the County Council in its capacity
as Local Health Authority, made it possible for many aged persons with various
problems to continue to reside in their own homes. As a result of our
continued satisfactory liaison with the Geriatric Department of the Hackney
Hospital, no great difficulty was at any time encountered in finding a hospital
bed for an aged person on a temporary or long-stay basis. The Officers of the
Welfare Department of the County Council were again most helpful and co-operative,
and aged persons no longer able to look after themselves in their own
homes were admitted to Part III accommodation, urgent cases being dealt with
with minimum delay, whilst the less urgent cases were placed on a waiting list.
Mainly because of the co-operation received from the various voluntary and
statutory bodies, I am happy to record that once again it was unnecessary to
have recourse to the power provided by Section 47 of the National Assistance
Act, 1948, to compulsorily remove persons in need of care and attention.
NATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT, 1948. SECTION 31 (Contributions to Old People's
Organisations).
(a) Hackney Association for the Welfare of Old People. The Borough
Council made a grant of £1 250 to this Association, the activities of which
include the following:-
Clubs. There are now twenty-three old people's clubs affiliated to this
Association with a membership varying between 50 and 400,
Holidays. As in previous years financial assistance towards holidays was
greatly appreciated: some 170 cases were helped and the amount of the grant
was £1 10s. 0d per person.
Chiropody for the Housebound. Chiropodists made 1,359 visits to 233
persons; in cases of hardship the Association met two-thirds of the cost of
7s. 6d. per visit.
Meals-on-Wheels. The number of meals served was 11,100, an increase of 1,100
on the previous year; a special Christmas meal was served at no cost to the
old people. The meals were cooked at the Clapton Centre of the Invalid Meals
for London Service at a cost to the Association of 1s. 10d. per meal, of which
sum the old person paid 10d. and the London County Council lid,; the
Association was responsible for the remaining 1d. The meals were provided on
four days per week, half of the borough being served on alternate days. The
purchase of a new and larger van speeded up delivery and enabled a greater
number of meals to be distributed.