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
Bexley 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bexley]
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| Mentally III 16 years and over | Elderly Mentally Infirm | TOTAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
| Receiving home visits | 160 | 275 | 20 | 55 | 510 |
| Attending day hospital | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Attending workshops, day centre or training centre (including special units) | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||
| Resident in other homes/hostels | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| TOTAL | 165 | 287 | 20 | 55 | 527 |
There were four places for the mentally ill made available to the Authority by other
organisations.
RE-INSTATE LIMITED
Re-Instate Limited which is the controlling body of the rehabilitation unit at St. John's Hall,
Erith and on which the Department was represented by the Deputy and then Acting Medical
Officer of Health, had just recovered from its financial difficulties of the previous year. A lack of
working capital had been the main problem and, with further financial assistance from the Council,
the Unit began to make small gains. Its main achievement however was the number of mentally ill
patients who were returned to their homes and jobs again. During 1970 the Company was giving
serious consideration to an extension of its activities so as to include the provision of hostel
accommodation within a reasonable distance of the Unit. The possibility of a joint enterprise of
this kind with two other voluntary bodies was being pursued.
The number of patients in attendance and patients discharged were:-
| Bexley residents who were Bexley Hospital patients. | 13 |
| Patients from the Community. | 18 |
| Patients discharged successfully to home and employment (Bexley London Borough) | 4 |
| Total number of persons successfully discharged to home and employment since 1968. | 13 |
MENTALLY HANDICAPPED PERSONS
The highlights of the year were the completion of two of the Department's capital projects,
a junior training centre and a hostel for mentally handicapped children.
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