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Eight Greenwich patients hold places at Honor Lea Hostel,
Lewisham, and a further 11 are accommodated as follows:—
One each at Hill House, Elstree, and the Susheila Community,
Dorset, and the remainder at Mental After Care or
National Society for Mental Health Homes at Margate, Westgate,
Esher, Cliftonville, South Croydon, Northampton,
Hastings and Ipswich.
Ministry of Labour
There is normal co-operation with the local Disablement
Resettlement and Youth Employment Officers who, unfortunately
with little success, endeavour to place into employment subnormals
who, perforce, must therefore remain in the care of the Mental
Health Service. It would appear that more favourable results are
obtained by the direct approach to employers for as problems arise
they can be brought immediately to our notice.
Park Vista Training Centre
Held on lease (18 years unexpired), this Centre comprises the
ground and first floors of the premises of a private undertaking and
provides facilities for 60 adult girls, 38 of whom are Greenwich
residents. Its ground floor accommodation consists of,
(a) a large room used as the supervisor's office and for medical
examinations,
(b) a further large room, capable of being divided into two
rooms by a movable partition, which is used for the work
and training of the most severely subnormal girls and,
(c) a dining room and kitchen adapted from its previous use
as a Hall. Although meals for the centre are supplied by
the School Meals Service, the latter rooms are used for
the teaching of plain cooking and laundering.
Outwork and training are carried out in the main hall on the
upper floor which is also utilized on Thursday evenings by the Park
Vista Club. Outwork is simple and consists mainly of carding
stationery display cards while other occupational work carried out
includes needlework, knitting, rugmaking, etc. Trainees are conveyed
to the centre by coach.
The possibility of keeping the centre open during school holidays
must be explored although it is evident that serious practical
difficulties exist. One obvious advantage of such a scheme would
be that industry might more easily be persuaded to provide the
centre with work. Moreover, boredom of the trainees resulting
from inactivity could be avoided and, as an added benefit, relatives
would enjoy greater relief from responsibility.
If Lewisham were able to accommodate its own 15 girls who
use the centre then a conversion should be possible enabling it to