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MENTAL HEALTH
Miss Z. Mason, B.A., A.I.M.S. W., Principal Mental Health Officer
During the year, 437 mentally ill and 422 subnormal or severely subnormal persons
were referred to the Department and at the year end a total of 1,252 individuals were
receiving some form of community care.
The Special Advisory Clinics
The Special Advisory Clinics for young retarded children continued to be held at the
Central Lewisham and Amersham Road Health Centres. During the year thirty-eight
sessions were held and ninety-five children were assessed.
The Early Care Unit
The Early Care Unit in the Shaftesbury House Day Nursery was fully occupied and
there continues to be a waiting list for admission. During the year, improvements to
the nursery premises made possible a most welcome increase of three places in the
accommodation to a total of fifteen.
Training Centres
The Lewisham (Junior) Training Centre remains fully occupied, a proportion of the
places being made available to children living in Southwark and Lambeth. At the end
of the year, eighty-seven Lewisham children were on the roll, with a further eight due
to commence after the Christmas Holidays. Twenty-one places were filled by children
from other areas.
A special care unit for twelve doubly handicapped children erected as an addition to
the centre opened in February. Since its opening heavy pressure on the admission list
has been felt and it is clear that further places will be required. A site in central
Lewisham has been acquired on which a new adult training centre is planned to
replace the existing ones in Brockley and Deptford and to provide additional places.
Planning of this centre was well advanced by the end of the year.
Following a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Council
approved a modification of its development plan. This now provides for an increase
in the number of places to 140 at the new centre. A second junior training centre with
sixty places to enable class sizes at the present centre to be reduced is also approved.
Thirty-six special care places will be provided.
As a temporary measure, pending the opening of the purpose-built adult training
centre, the Council approved the transfer of the Brockley centre into superior church
hall accommodation and negotiations for the use of these premises were at an advanced
stage by the end of the year.
A number of female adults living in Lewisham who had been attending a training
centre in Greenwich, were transferred to the Brockley centre and at the same time
a similar number of male trainees from Greenwich who had been attending the
Deptford centre were transferred to centres in Greenwich.
Annual Seaside Holiday
Forty-two trainees from the three centres, accompanied by members of the supervisory
staff, took part in the annual seaside holiday for inner London training centres
at St. Mary's Bay, Dymchurch, Kent.
Short-term Care
Short-term residential care, in accordance with Ministry of Health Circular 5/52, to
provide relief for their families, was arranged for twenty-four subnormal adults and
forty-eight children. Of these eighteen were found accommodation in hospital and
fifty-seven in approved homes.
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