Page 985 - Reading Mercury

Many of the criticisms, they say, would be unnecessary if priority were given to the
southern section of the distribution ring and a by-pass. But it was realised that these
were dependent upon the availability of funds.

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Sat 27 April
YOUTH WEEK AT WOKINGHAM
The official opening of South-East and Central Berkshire’s first Youth Week will be
performed by BBC commentator Raymond Glendenning on Tuesday. The week will
be launched from St. Crispin’s School, Wokingham, where a three-day programme of
events is to be staged. During the three days a hobbies exhibition will be on view and
prominent speakers will lecture in the afternoons. Wokingham Rotary Club will be
assisting with the project.
On Thursday, Mr. W.R. van Straubenzee, M.P., Coun., J. Chapman, Mayor of
Wokingham; the Rev. A.A. Horsely, curate of St. Paul’s Church, Wokingham; and
Mrs. Helen McCarthy, Berkshire county councillor, will take part in an “Any
Questions?” evening. They will be facing a panel of teenagers from youth clubs in the
area. Chairman will be Mrs. M.C. Long, chairman of the County Council youth
Section of the Education Committee.
Youth teams taking part in the “Youth Entertains” revue at Wick Hill School,
Bracknell, on Friday will be at All Saints’, Wokingham; Coopers Hill, Bracknell, and
Woodley Venturers. It is hoped that amateur folk singer Brian Banks will entertain
during the intervals.
Saturday is the climax of the week with a youth ball at Sperry’s canteen. The week’s
activities will be brought to a close with a modern youth service at St. Paul’s Church,
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Wokingham, when the 20 century Mass will be sung.

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Sat 8 May
THE COST OF REBUILDING WOKINGHAM HOSPITAL
To rebuild Wokingham Hospital, which houses 96 geriatric patients, and which last
week was described by its consulting physician, Dr. S.M. Vine, as “a medical slum,”
would cost some £240,000, said Mr. Joseph Archer, Deputy secretary of the Reading
and District Hospital management Committee on Wednesday.
Mr. Archer said the root cause of the problem of overcrowding was lack of money.
The matter had been discussed the previous day by the Management Committee,
which had known for a number of years that the four geriatric wards of the hospital
were overcrowded. It is simply that a lot of old people need and require attention and
while there are those old people we must meet the demand.
Slow process
Because the building of hospitals such a slow process, they had to be content with
the use of buildings which were available in 1948 when the Health Service came into
being.
It was not just a local problem for Wokingham but applied all over the country.
Many of these buildings had been put up in the last century and the Wokingham
Hospital had originally been a poorhouse.
Since the hospital had been taken over a lot had been done to improve the building
and to raise the standard of medical service there. Dividing walls had been removed,
walls had been plastered, the wards had been redecorated and two of them had been
re-floored.

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