London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

London County Council 1935

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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64
Mental
Deficiency
Acts. Cases
notified to
the local
authority.
Mr Wells also visited the schools for the deaf and partially deaf and examined
all the children. As a result, 1 child in a school for the deaf was returned to
elementary school as having improved. Table 37 on page 62 gives particulars of
the re-allocation of children already in attendance at special schools.

Table: The following table shows the number of cases notified by the education authority under section 2 (2) of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, as amended by the Mental Deficiency Act, 1927, during the year 1935 (the figures in brackets being those for the previous year):—

The following table shows the number of cases notified by the education authority under section 2 (2) of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, as amended by the Mental Deficiency Act, 1927, during the year 1935 (the figures in brackets being those for the previous year):—

(a) Feeble-minded—Boys.Girls.
(1) Leavers126 (148)149 (143)
(2) Detrimental3 (2)5 (3)
(3) Special circumstances2 (2)- (2)
(4) Ineducable10 (8)12 (11)
(b) Imbeciles55 (55)48 (43)
(c) Idiots3 (7)4 (4)
(d) In addition to being mentally defective, were blind and deaf1 (-)1 (-)
200 (222)219 (206)
Total419 (428)

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After-careers.
The chief officer of the mental hospitals department has furnished the following
return for the year 1935 on after-care of children formerly attending special schools
for the mentally defective, but whose names were not notified to the Mental Hospitals
Committee as being cases in which the Education Committee were of opinion that
further aid in the form of supervision, guardianship or institutional care under the
Mental Deficiency Acts was necessary :—

Table: Table 40.

Table 40.

Classification.Male.Female.Total.Grand total under headings.
(1) Number of children born in or subsequent to 1917 who have left special schools and who were on the books of the supervision section on 31st December, 1935382189571571
(2) Number who after trial have proved themselves to be incapable by reason of mental or physical defect of undertaking remunerative employment5277
(3) Number employed as under :—(a) Industrial or manual occupations (i.e., factory work, trade or any part of a trade)252144396
(6) Agricultural or rural occupations———
(c) Domestic occupations—
M. F. Total(1) Receiving remuneration 3 23 26(2) Required for work at home 16 742933
(d) Commercial, shop assistant, or selling behind a counter, office boys or girls12113
(e) Gone into army, navy or merchant service———
(/) Blind alley or other precarious occupations (i.e., vanboys, newsboys, errand boys and girls, selling from a barrow)76278520
(4) Number judged to be employable but out of work1842222
(5) Number whose careers have not been traced :— (a) Not visited and not seen at bureaux8412
(6) Visited but no information obtainable731022
(6) Cases dealt with in addition to above including those who have since :—
(a) died_11
(6) attained the age of 18 years13888226
(e) been dealt with under M.D. Act ...121729
(d) been lost sight of, or have left London13821277

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N.B.—In addition to the 571 after-care cases shown in the above return there were
443 boys and girls between 16 and 18 years of age who had left special schools and were
under statutory supervision on 31st December, 1935. These also were on the books of the
supervision section for placing in employment.