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52
The Committee meets at regular intervals to consider matters of policy and principle, and to
review arrangements for ensuring co-operation and co-ordination between the City Council's
departments and statutory and voluntary agencies.
Case conferences concerning individual families are held regularly at the request of any social
worker or agency interested in the family. At such meetings field workers in the various departments,
and any organisations involved, have the opportunity of discussing ways in which the difficulties
in the family situation may be met. During 1966, 22 case conferences were held at which 60
families were discussed.
In November 1965 the Co-ordinating Committee appointed a working party (from Health,
Children's, Welfare and Housing Departments, the Inner London Education Authority and the
Greater London Council Housing Department) to consider:—
(1) Methods of securing the maximum co-operation between departments in providing services
for the public;
(2) The relationship with voluntary organisations; methods of communication with, and
utilization of, their services;
(3) Inter-departmental in-service training;
(4) The provision of an information service for the public concerning social work within Council
Departments and also that provided by voluntary organisations;
(5) Co-operation with hospitals, especially social work in connection with out-patients and
hospital discharges;
(6) Co-ordination of applications for grants from voluntary funds in order to avoid overlapping.
As a result of the working party's recommendations, a directory of social services was prepared
and circulated. Meetings were also arranged between Council officers, hospital staffs and social
workers attached to voluntary agencies, at which the care of handicapped children and the "battered
baby" syndrome were discussed.
The area of Westminster lies within two Regional Hospital Boards; there are five Teaching
Hospitals and one Regional Hospital Board General Hospital within the City. In addition, Westminster
is served by two mental hospitals and two hospitals for the mentally subnormal outside the
area. The good co-operation which exists between these hospitals and the Health Department
staff is achieved by personal contact especially with maternity, paediatric, psychiatric and geriatric
departments.
When individuals or families with problems are being considered by the Co-ordinating Committee,
representatives of voluntary organisations, hospitals and general practitioners are invited to attend
as necessary.
In general, the ways in which co-operation and co-ordination are effected in Westminster are as
follows:—
1. Local authority social workers attend hospital out-patient departments, e.g., audiology,
ophthalmology, V.D., chest, psychiatry. In regard to the latter, the local authority social
workers attend out-patient clinics run by catchment area mental hospitals in general
hospital premises. They also attend discharge conferences at both the catchment area
hospitals.
2. There is interchange of medical staff—e.g. local authority staff hold clinical assistantships in
hospitals, and hospital registrars take clinics in local authority premises for the local authority.
In addition, there is one infant welfare clinic in hospital premises, staffed by a hospital
consultant paediatrician who is assisted by a local authority health visitor.
3. Conferences are held in hospitals between hospital and local authority staff (Health and
Children's Departments) on specific problems, e.g. battered babies.
4. Social workers and health visitors provide home reports when they are asked to do so by
hospital staff. They also follow up defaulters who fail to keep appointments.
5. There is co-operation with both general practitioners and hospital consultants, especially
for mentally or physically handicapped children attending local authority clinics and
hospitals.
6. A considerable amount of formal teaching is given by the local authority medical and nursing
staff to students of medicine and nursing in the local hospitals.
7. In-service training is arranged by the local authority Health department to which general
practitioners or hospital medical social workers are invited, as appropriate.
8. Three members of the City Council's Health Department staff serve on local Hospital
Management Committees.
9. General practitioners have long been used, and are being used to an even greater extent,
in the local authority health service, not only in infant welfare, antenatal and family planning
clinics, but also in schools and day nurseries.
10. One full-time and one part-time health visitor are attached to general practice surgeries.