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varying dates, the latest being 31st March, 1930. By the end of 1929, however, few
cases had been removed.
47. During the year, Littleton House, Cambridge, was transferred to the
management of the Royal Eastern Counties institution, Colchester. The charge
for maintenance remained the same, and a new reception agreement was not necessary.
48. The Council agreed to pay to the managers of the Eagle House hostel an
allowance at the rate of 10s. a head a year, to meet the expense involved in the
supervision of girls placed in residential service on leave of absence from the hostel.
(b) Accommodation provided by the Council.
49. Accommodation has continued to be provided at (i) The Manor, Epsom (488
male and 603 female defectives of all classes, including 38 high grade female adult
defectives in Hollywood Lodge, Epsom-common (ii) the South Side Home, Streathamcommon,
S.W. (80 females, higher grade cases), (iii) Brunswick House, Mistley,
Essex (75 males, higher grade cases), and (iv) Farmfield, near Horley, Surrey (133
adult or adolescent males of criminal experience or intractable disposition). The
accommodation at these institutions continues to be reserved exclusively for London
cases. A statement of expenditure on the administration of these institutions is given
in Appendices I. and II. At 31st December, 1929, the four institutions were
practically full.
The Manor.
50. During 1929 steady progress was made at The Manor.
51. In the Annual Report for 1928, reference was made to the Council's
decision that, subject to the approval of the Minister of Health, the land and buildings
at The Manor should be transferred permanently from the lunacy service to the
mental deficiency service for the accommodation of cases of mental defect.
Negotiations as to terms upon which the transfer should be accepted were opened
in 1929, but at the end of the year, terms had not been settled.
52. The orthopaedic clinic at The Manor, instituted in 1928, continued to give
very satisfactory results. During 1929 the visiting surgeon examined, diagnosed and
recommended treatment for about 68 cases and performed 9 surgical operations.
An average of about 20 cases attended the clinic daily.
53. The need for improving the school accommodation and the facilities for
teaching received consideration during the year. The opinion was formed that the
heavy expenditure involved by the provision of new school buildings was not
justified, but that the position would be met if the existing school accommodation,
originally a ward, was brought up to modern requirements. To effect this improvement,
the following works were carried out:—a workshop for practical instruction in
domestic subjects, two large covered shelters in the school garden, and open-fronted
verandahs on the east side of the schoolroom were provided, the outer wall on the
east side of the schoolroom was removed and a folding glass partition was substituted.
The total cost of these works was £1,600.
54. The average attendance of children at the school during the year ended
31st March, 1930, was 135, a decrease of 4 on the average for the previous twelve
months.
55. As an experiment, arrangements were made with the Metropolitan
Association for the Blind for a welfare worker to visit The Manor once a week or
once a fortnight, as might be convenient, for the purpose of giving the blind patients
there such specialised teaching and training as was possible. Experience alone will
show how far expenditure upon the teaching of cases with the double defect of
mental deficiency and blindness can be justified, but it is apparent that there is
a need, and experiment in the direction of meeting it is called for.
Littleton
House.
Eagle House
Hostel.
Number of
cases
accommodated
.
Progress
made.
Transfer of
land and
buildings.
Orthopaedic
clinic.
School
accommodation.
School
attendances.
Teaching and
training of
blind
patients.