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welfare of old people
There is in the Borough much voluntary activity devoted to
this cause. Seven Clubs meet weekly in various parts of the
district and there is another which opens daily. a Chiropody
service for which there is very great demand has been organised
and five sessions per week are held.
Seaside holidays for parties of elderly people ore arranged
annually, and there is a distribution of dinners to the housebound
at Christmas.
Home visiting is carried out so far as the availability of
visitors permits, and there is close co-operation with official
bodies.
All this work is co-ordinated through the Surbiton Old People's
Welfare Committee, a voluntary body representative of most walks of
life in the Borough and presided over by His Worship the Mayor.
As is usual with such organisations its work is restricted by
its income, which emanates entirely from donations and subscriptions
from various sources including a Flag Day, and by lack of suitable
premises.
Whilst the problem of finance will be constant and is an
accepted hazard of all voluntary social work, the accommodation
difficulty is likely to be solved in the near future thanks to
generous assistance from the Surbiton Borough Council which is
helping the Committee to provide a house which will be used as an
Old People's Centre including recreation rooms, club, chiropody
clinic, canteen, office, etc.
The Borough Council also makes a generous contribution towards
the cost of the Meals on Wheels service which is operated by the
Surbiton Division of the British Red Cross Society.
The number of mid-day meals distributed during the year was
3,266 towards which the recipients aid only l/3d. per meal.
WATER SUPPLY
The whole of the water supply for the Borough comes from the
Metropolitan Water Board and is satisfactory both as regards quantity
and quality.
All premises have a direct mains supply and there are no wells
in use.
Monthly reports are supplied by the Board giving details of
their chemical and bacteriological examinations.
Five bacteriological samples were taken by the Department for
special reasons, and all were satisfactory.
RIVERS AND STREAMS.
The widening of the course of the Hogsmill River through the
Borough is completed, but the state of the water is likely to remain
unsatisfactory until the effluent from the Epsom Sewage Disposal
Works is no longer discharged into it.
A new sewer has been constructed which will soon carry sewage
from Epsom to the joint disposal works being provided in Lower
Marsh Lane.
Meanwhile notice boards are still displayed warning against
bathing and paddling in the Hogsmill River.
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