London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hornsey 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]
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increasingly fruitful. Nor was the improvement limited to an improved
skill in reading; in some cases, the attitudes of the pupils to school itself
were changed.
(e) Allocation to Secondary Schools
The use of school records and Primary School Head Teachers' opinions
for the "border-zone" candidates was again used, and ways were discussed
of making more use of the Head Teachers' reports on pupils in independent
schools. The immigration of children from overseas provided a
problem in allocation which may well be larger next year.
2. Examination of Individual Children
It is here that statistical analyses are most arbitrary. The following
figures do, however, illustrate certain general trends.
The referrals to the Chi'd Guidance Centre came mainly from the Schools.
| Sources of Referral | ||
|---|---|---|
| Schools | 71 | |
| A.M.O. | 26 | |
| Hospitals | 5 | |
| G.P.'s | 3 | |
| Parents | 7 | |
| Children's Officer | 1 | |
| 113 (excluding children referred for educational guidance). | ||
Many of these children or their parents could be dealt with fairly
quickly, as when it was a question of educational guidance, examination
as possibly E.S.N., selection for special groups; or minor difficulties.
Some 57, however, were referred to the visiting psychiatrist for examination.
(Dr. Phillins attends the Centre on two mornings each week)
The following table shows the "wastage" which occurs. With our present facilities, there is a lengthening of the waiting list for diagnostic examination, and especially for treatment.
| Children Referred in 1956. | 57. | |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawn before diagnosis | 8 | (49) |
| Still awaiting diagnosis | 16 | (33) |
| Referred elsewhere | 6 | (27) |
| Treatment waiting list | 7 | (20) |
| Placement away from home | 10 | (10) |
| Referred to Psychiatric Social Worker | 4 | (6) |
| Advice only | 3 | (3) |
| Others | 3 |
The importance of the fairly high proportion of placements away
from home which are recommended is that we get extremely severe cases
from homes with severe emotional disorders in the parents. "Placement",
with its attendant annual review, tends to take an increasing proportion
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