Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Brent]
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Brent helps in the training of professional workers; psychologists, psycho-therapists, and social
workers spend continuous periods doing practical work at the Centres as part of their training and we have
many visits from students.
The establishment of the Notre Dame Child Guidance Clinic in Ladbroke Grove is also to be welcomed.
The Brent Child Guidance Service has already passed some cases, usually Roman Catholic families
who have shown a preference to that Clinic.
Contact with the Courts has not always been as close as it might have been. As can be seen from
Table 2 only 2% of the Child Guidance referrals come from the Courts. What seems to have happened on
some occasions is that children well-known to the Child Guidance Service have appeared before the Juvenile
Court and have then been remanded in custody for a psychiatric report and the investigations already completed
by the Child Guidance Service are repeated. The Service is not seeking work, it can barely deal with the
referrals that come along at the moment, but reports to the Court on children already known seem a worthwhile
use of our services, and to repeat investigations elsewhere takes up scarce professional time.
CHILD GUIDANCE CENTRES Table 1. Referrals
Number of cases referred to the Centres in 1967 (140 girls, 218 boys) | 358 | |
Number of cases brought forward from 1966 waiting list | 56 | 414 |
Number of new cases dealt with by Psychiatrist and team | 204 | |
Number of cases investigated by Educational Psychologist and P.S.W. or withdrawn before full investigation | 131 | |
Cases remaining on waiting list at 31.12.67 | 79 | 414 |
Number of cases seen for regular treatment | 173 | |
Number of cases recommended for residential placement | 20 |
Table 2. Sources of Referrals
M.O.H. and School Medical Officers | (25%) | 91 |
Headteachers and Educational Psychologists | (25%) | 90 |
General Practitioners | (15%) | 54 |
Hospitals | (6%) | 19 |
Probation Officers and Juvenile Courts | (2%) | 6 |
Parents | (15%) | 54 |
Children's Department | (6%) | 22 |
Others | (6%) | 22 |
358 |
Table 3. Reasons for Referral
I. Nervous Disorders | (8%) |
(a) Fears and anxieties | 22 |
(b) Inhibited behaviour | 7 |
2. Behaviour Disorders | (52%) |
(a) At home | 120 |
(b) At School | 42 |
(c) Predominantly aggressive | 23 |
3. Habit Disorders | (16%) |
(a) Enuresis (wetting) | 32 |
(b) Involuntary movements | 6 |
(c) Sleep disturbances | 6 |
(d) Speech disorders | 10 |
(e) Head banging | 2 |
4. Psychosametic | (2%) |
Asthma, Eczema, etc. | 8 |
5. Anti-social Behaviour | (13%) |
(a) Stealing | 28 |
(b) Non-attendance at school | 19 |
6. Psychotic Behaviour | 1 |
7. Educational Difficultie | (9%) |
Backwardness and retardation in school work | 32 |
358 |