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84
by a small group of helpers and ex-patients meeting for Sunday
lunch at Mr. Dawson's church hall. Mental health social workers
attended these Sunday lunches over a period of weeks until the
club had been established. There is now a group of approximately
fifteen ex-patients who attend the Sunday Lunch Club and Mr.
Dawson, his helpers and the mental health social workers feel that
the club is performing an invaluable service in the community.
Wandsworth Society for Mentally Handicapped Children
This year a group mental health social workers formed a working
party which has been meeting regularly with representatives
from the Wandsworth Society for Mentally Handicapped Children
and has in general been assessing the service for the mentally
handicapped. These meetings were found to be very valuable both
by the social workers and by the parents, and it is hoped that they
will lead to many valuable improvements in the service that is
being offered.
Special Clinics
The special assessment and consultative clinics at St. Christopher's
and Balham Child Health Centres continue to be held
every 2-3 weeks. . Parents are helped in their management of their
mentally handicapped children and are also offered special services,
such as short-term care, attendance at the special unit at Summerley
Day Nursery or visits by mental health social workers.
Pre-school playgroups
We continue to receive the utmost co-operation from the Wandsworth
Pre-school Playgroups Association in placing mentally
handicapped and disturbed children in their playgroups. The
special playgroup for mentally handicapped children under five,
open five mornings a week and catering for ten children, continues
to give a most valuable service to the mentally handicapped
children in the community.
Junior Training School and Adult Training Centres
There was an improvement in the salary structure of our teaching
and instructor staff which we hope will enable us to attract
and retain trained staff at our school and centres.
With the integration of the sexes at our adult centres, Wandsworth
can now cater for all the mentally handicapped adults in
the area, and we are no longer dependent on using the training
centre facilities in other boroughs. We are most grateful to the
Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth for allowing us to keep
some of our men at Clapham Industrial Training Centre until the
end of the year.