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57
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mental Health Social Workers
Mental Health Social Workers deal with the care in the community of the
mentally ill and mentally subnormal. They provide support and guidance to
patients and their families and ensure that they receive appropriate community
care and other social and medical services as required. Much time and skill is
needed in assessing the needs of patients at the time of referral and in providing
an effective casework service for patients and their families. Mental health
social workers also have a statutory responsibility in connection with compulsory
admission to hospital of the mentally disordered, when this is necessary. They
also assist in arranging informal admissions for their patients when this is more
appropriate.
A twenty-four hour service is maintained in conjunction with the neighbouring
boroughs of Wandsworth and Southwark to deal with emergencies and operates
through the Lambeth Emergency Control Centre.
In order to develop the mental health social work service on a team basis,
and to provide adequate supervision and consultation for field staff, two posts of
senior mental health social workers were added to the Department's establishment.
Each senior is responsible for the supervision of an area team, the allocation
and review of cases, consultation and advice on casework and statutory duties, and
participation in the Department's trainee scheme.
Day Care and Training Facilities
Under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act a local health authority
is required to provide centres for the training of children under the age of sixteen
years who have been reported to it by the local education authority as being
unsuitable for education at school. As no junior training schools passed to
Lambeth from the London County Council in 1965, the Council has been hard
pressed to provide the necessary facilities and has had to make use of places at
centres in other boroughs and at hospitals.
The Council's first two junior training schools, at Garrards Road, Streatham
and Rectory Grove, Clapham, opened in September 1968 and have reduced the
pressure to some extent. Both are in converted properties and will be replaced
within the next three years by purpose build schools, catering for all Lambeth
children requiring this service. Construction has started on a junior training
school at Blenheim Gardens.
The Health and Welfare Committee considered a circular from the appropriate
Ministries seeking comments on the proposal that the responsibility for the
education and training of mentally subnormal children should pass from local
health authorities to local education authorities. The Committee supported this