London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Southwark 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, Borough of]
This page requires JavaScript
but mainly to give relief to parents—relatives for severely subnormal and subnormal
children and adults. Places were found, at the Council's expense, at local health authority,
voluntary and private establishments, homes, convents, etc.
Recuperative Holidays following recovery from recent acute illness were provided
for 28 mentally ill persons on medical grounds.
Social activities. The organised training centre/school holiday scheme at Dymchurch,
Kent, organised by the London Borough of Hammersmith, was used by persons for two
weeks.
The various social clubs for mentally ill and subnormal persons run by various
organisations continued as before, in some cases the Council paying exceptional fees to
the leaders.
Mention must be. made of the repeated donations to the amenity funds of training
centres and schools by the Southwark Society for Mentally Handicapped Children which
enable many activities and equipment not supplied by the Council to be acquired for the
various establishments. Donations were also received from other organisations.
STATISTICS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 1968
TABLE 1
NUMBER OF REFERRALS DURING YEAR
| Referred by | Mentally Ill | Subnormal | Severely Subnormal | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 16 | 16 & over | Under 16 | 16 & over | Under 16 | 16 & over | Totals | |||||||
| M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | ||
| General practitioners | – | –_ | 72 | 68 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 140 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 2 | 143 | 165 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | 323 |
| Local Education Authority | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | 45 | 29 | 27 | 16 | 2 | – | – | – | 124 |
| Police and Courts | – | 1 | 17 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 44 |
| Others* | – | 2 | 193 | 187 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 4 | – | – | 430 |
| Totals | 3 | 5 | 426 | 443 | 57 | 41 | 45 | 28 | 9 | 4 | – | – | 1,061 |
Includes relatives, neighbours, Department of Health and Social Security Reception Centres, other
local authorities, etc.
43