View report page

Long-term Care
Although the obtaining of hospital places for persons requiring long-term hospital
care continued to be difficult, admissions were arranged for five persons, including
one on a five-day week basis. At the end of the year, five persons were still awaiting
admission.
Places in approved homes were found for eighteen subnormal persons during the
year. Altogether forty-three are now being maintained by the Council in this type of
accommodation.
Mental Subnormality Liaison Committee
This Committee whose membership comprises a hospital consultant, a specialist in
mental subnormality and a general practitioner, as well as senior officers of the Health
Department, met on three occasions during the year. The Committee gave valuable
advice on policy and planning services for the mentally subnormal.
Psychiatric Advice
The Psychiatric Liaison Committee, comprising consultants from Bexley and Cane
Hill Hospitals, a general practitioner and a representative of the Welfare Service, as
well as members of the Mental Health team, met quarterly and gave valuable advice
on policy and planning of services for the mentally ill. Monthly meetings of all
social workers and staff of establishment for the mentally ill, and attended by
consultants also proved most useful for the discussion of specific and general
problems and the disemmination of information.
Honor Lea Hostel
This was fully occupied throughout the year. Altogether there were 40 admissions
(25 men and 15 women) and 36 residents (22 men and 14 women) discharged. Of the
residents who were discharged 11 went to their own homes and 10 into lodgings.
15 residents returned voluntarily to hospital during the year.
The work record of the residents was very encouraging and at the end of the year,
all were engaged in outside employment.
Two groups of hostel personnel, unable to make their own arrangements were
provided with a week's seaside holiday accompanied by a Social Worker.
The blocking of hostel places by those whose condition is such that they no longer
need support but have no other accommodation continues to cause some concern.
During the year the Council arranged for the conversion of a suitable house to
bed-sitter accommodation for persons considered fit. This unit will be used primarily
for ex-residents of Honor Lea.
Day Centres
In June the Princess Louise Day Centre in Deptford, was discontinued and modern,
specially adapted premises named the New Cross Day Centre was opened. By the
end of the year there were thirty patients on the roll there and thirty on the roll of the
Cambridge Day Centre in Lee. During the year twenty persons were able to leave
centres to take up outside employment.
Social Clubs
Weekly meetings of the two evening social clubs for mentally ill persons continued.
The Saville Club was transferred to the Lewisham Training Centre and renamed the
Perryrise Club. Altogether there were eighteen persons on the roll of the Perryrise
Club and forty-five on the roll of the Tideway Club at the end of the year.
50