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50
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE
Sara Syrop, med. dip. univ. of warsaw, d.t.m. & h., d.c.h., d.p.h.
Senior Medical Officer.
H. J. Vagg, a.r.s.h., a.i.s.w., Principal Mental Health Officer.
When considering the development of the local authority
Mental Health Service in 1966, the reader must bear in mind that
the service started nine months previously almost from scratch.
Therefore, a parallel can be drawn with a spurt of growth occurring
in a human being during the second year of life.
Such an expansion was envisaged by the senior staff of the
service and every effort made to make adequate provisions from
the staff, "bricks and mortar" and financial angles.
On the first point we faced the national problem of professional
staff being in short supply; suitable "bricks and mortar" are very
scarce in the Borough, while free land is practically non-existent.
The financial provisions already approved by the Council had to be
severely cut back in accordance with the Governmental policy of
summer 1966.
One measure of the work of the Mental Health Section is given
in the table below:
Cases in community care supervised by the Mental Health Section
in 196~6 (corresponding numbers for 1965 in brackets).

One notes that the main increase in total cases is due to the
doubling of new referrals in mental illness from last year. The
figures for subnormality are discussed further on in the report.
MENTAL HEALTH SECTION STAFF
General Comments
The Department's policy of appointing academically qualified
staff has been adhered to and in spite of the national shortage of
such workers, we appointed one trainee, three Mental Welfare
Officers and one Senior Mental Welfare Officer. Two out of the
three Mental Welfare Officers appointed and the Senior Mental
Welfare Officer have social work qualifications. Thus on 31.12.1966,
the total strength of the Section was 2 trainees, 10 Mental Welfare