View report page

MENTAL HEALTH
Since mental health services in Islington became the responsibility of the new London Borough in April
1965, successive annual reports have recorded new developments in the field of mental health, and by the
end of 1969 we had the beginnings of a comprehensive mental health service. The outstanding gap was in
residential provision, but plans for two purpose-built hostels had been accepted with completion due in
1972. In the meantime, former Islington residents were being given financial support by the Borough in
hostels and homes run by various voluntary bodies.
With a fairly wide variety of services becoming available, the impetus to provide additional services
slowed down a little and the main aim for 1970 was consolidation, and improvement in the quality of the
service. Extra social worker posts had been added to the establishment, together with two senior posts in
the social work field, so that advice could be readily available to less experienced staff and attention could
be given to co-ordination and general development. We were fortunate in filling all additional social work
posts before the end of 1969 and in remaining fully staffed. With the additional social work establishment
we were able to reduce the social workers' case loads and to improve the quality of our service.
While consolidation was the main aim for 1970, there were a number of new developments during the
year.
HARPERBURY OUT-PATIENT CLINIC
Work with the mentally handicapped has been greatly helped by the setting-up of a weekly out-patient
clinic for parents and children at Finsbury Health Centre. This clinic is run by a consultant psychiatrist
from Harperbury Hospital who is also available to our social workers for consultation and discussion, thus
enabling the catchment hospital and the local authority to work more closely together.
LINKS WITH HOSPITALS
The co-operation between hospital and local authority has been further developed in the area of mental
illness. During 1970, meetings of various types have been held by the mental health section and by Friern,
Halliwick and St. Bartholomew's Hospitals where each others' social workers have been welcomed;
combined meetings for psychiatrists and social workers have also taken place. Islington now has two joint
appointment social workers, one with Barts and one with Friern, and it seems worthy of mention that one
of our senior mental health social workers has just been appointed as principal psychiatric social worker at
Barts.
PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT
By kind permission of the Professor of Psychological Medicine, a senior psychiatric registrar from Barts
was made available to the mental health section at the Finsbury Health Centre on three days a week in
order to see and assess semi-acute emergencies and, where possible, refer patients for day care at the Pine
Street Day Centre rather than arranging hospital admission. Following on from this, a staff nurse from
Friern has been seconded to work full time at the Pine Street Day Centre to help the supervisor and her
assistant in the management of these more severely disturbed patients. Through having a staff nurse from
Friern at the health centre we have, in response to local need, been able to open a Modecate out-patient
clinic there (a branch of the Friern Hospital clinic). This enables patients in the community, who would
otherwise travel to and from Friern Hospital for their fortnightly injections, to be treated in their home
area.
WORK WITH GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
1970 has seen further development of work with general medical practitioners and by the end of the year
six general practices had mental health social worker attachments, with the social workers attending the
85