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
London County Council 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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58
Mental
Deficiency
Acta. Cases
notified to
the local
authority.
The following table shows the number of cases notified by the education authority under section 2 (2) of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, as amended by the Mental Deficiency Act, 1927, during the year 1936 (the figures in brackets being those for the previous year):—
| (a) Feeble-minded— | Boys | Girls | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Leavers | 295 | (126) | 268 | (149) |
| (2) Detrimental | 5 | (3) | — | (5) |
| (3) Special circumstances | - | (2) | 5 | (—) |
| (4) Ineducable | 22 | (10) | 14 | (12) |
| (b) Imbeciles | 47 | (65) | 28 | (48) |
| (c) Idiots | 2 | (3) | 5 | (4) |
| (d) In addition to being mentally defective, were blind or deaf | 1 | (1) | 2 | (1) |
| 372 | (200) | 322 | (219) | |
| Total | 694 (419) | |||
After-careers.
The chief officer of the mental hospitals department has furnished the following return for the year 1936 on after-care of children formerly attending special schools for the mentally defective, but whose names were not notified to the Mental Hospitals Committee as being cases in which the Education Committee were of opinion that further aid in the form of supervision, guardianship or institutional care under the Mental Deficiency Acts was necessary:— Table 36
| Classification | Male | Female | Total | Grand total under headings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Number of children born in or subsequent to 1918 who have left special schools and who were on the books of the supervision section on 31st December, 1936 | 355 | 160 | 515 | 515 |
| (2) Number who after trial have proved themselves to be incapable by reason of mental or physical defect of undertaking remunerative employment | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| (3) Number employed as under:— | ||||
| (a) Industrial or manual occupations (i.e., factory work, trade or any part of a trade) | 246 | 114 | 360 | |
| (b) Agricultural or rural occupations | _ | _ | _ | |
| M. F. Total | ||||
| (1) Receiving remuneration 2 13 15 | ||||
| (2) Required for work at home - 6 6 | 2 | 19 | 21 | |
| (d) Commercial, shop assistant, or selling behind a counter, office boys or girls | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| (e) Gone into army, navy or merchant service | 1 | — | 1 | |
| (f) Blind alley or other precarious occupations (i.e., vanboys, newsboys, errand boys and girls, selling from a barrow) | 75 | 6 | 81 | 465 |
| 4) Number judged to be employable but out of work | 12 | 6 | 18 | 18 |
| 5) Number whose careers have not been traced:— | ||||
| (a) Not visited and not seen at bureaux | 10 | 11 | 21 | |
| (6) Visited but no information obtainable | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 |
| 6) Cases dealt with in addition to above including those who have since:— | ||||
| (a) died | — | 1 | 1 | |
| (b) attained the age of 18 years | 117 | 58 | 175 | |
| (c) been dealt with under M.D. Acts | 36 | 27 | 63 | |
| (d) been lost sight of, or have left London | 5 | 6 | 11 | 250 |
N.B.—In addition to the 515 after-care cases shown in the above return there were
694 boys and girls between 16 and 18 years of age who had left special schools and were
under statutory supervision on 31st December, 1936. These also were on the books of the
supervision section for placing in employment.