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Recruitment of home helps has proved satisfactory with an increase of 14 fulltime
workers, we are recruiting a younger type of woman.
The organising staff visited 11,495 households during the year in spite of illness
of two of the Organisers.
The Chief Home Help Organiser has given talks to the Mental Health Section,
the Children's Department, university students, student health visitors,
midwives, medical social workers, to hospital staff and student nurses, district
nurses and S.E.N, nurses. The Organisers have arranged visits of observation for all
types of students, this proves a valuable link between workers in the health and
welfare field, and from statutory and voluntary bodies.
An extra assistant organiser was appointed for Camberwell North Home Help
Office, and a full-time clerk replaced the half unit in that office. These additions
proved most beneficial to the service.
SOCIAL WORK (HEALTH SERVICES)
The Social Work (Health Services) Section is concerned with
(a) social work arising out of school and hospital clinics (see section on School
Health) and
(b) intensive casework with families with multiple problems.
The family caseworkers in the section have been concerned with the family
with multiple problems and their caseloads are purposely restricted in order that
they may have the time to consider the needs of each individual member of the family
and the interpersonal relationships which so often are the basis of the family's difficulties.
The majority of the referrals come to the caseworkers from the Borough
Co-ordinating Committee's case conferences. (See below.)
During the year members of the staff have attended various conferences and
day courses and the service has co-operated in the training of student social workers
from the London School of Economics and the School Care Committee Service.
Two of the social workers attached to the section work in the Borough Chest
Clinics. For a fuller description of their work refer to the section on Chest Clinics
page 88 of this report.
CO-ORDINATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES
The co-ordinating machinery in the Borough operated on three levels: Standing
Committee; Working Sub-Committee; Case Conference, also a Rent Arrear SubCommittee
met bi-monthly.
The Standing Committee consists of:
Medical Officer of Health—Chairman
Children's Officer—Vice Chairman
Chief Welfare Officer
Housing Manager
Divisional Officer (Education)
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