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Ill October, 1948, the School Medical Officer headed a deputation to the Ministry
of Education from the School Health Group of the Society of Medical Officers of Health
and stated their objections to the separation of child guidance work into diagnosis and
treatment and its division between the hospital side and the local education authority
side, and stated that it would be preferable to do the work of both child guidance
centres and clinics in ad hoc centres administered by the local education authority.
Within the proposed new set-up child guidance clinic sessions could be held in the
same building and by the same staff as that provided by the 'centres.' The regional
hospital boards would pay the staff for the child guidance clinic sessions. The School
Medical Officer stressed the need for co-operation between local education authorities
and hospital authorities to ensure that adequate information should be mutually available,
and said that he would need to know the names of children in attendance at schools of
the local education authority who were referred to hospital child guidance clinics.
At a meeting between the senior administrative medical officers of the metropolitan
regional hospital boards, which the School Medical Officer attended in November, 1948,
there was general agreement on the lines on which the child guidance service was to
be worked in future, namely, that it was undesirable and uneconomic for parallel
'centres' and 'clinics' to be established, the former by local education authorities,
the latter by hospitals. The same staff should work in the same building and be responsible
for both diagnosis and treatment. A neutral title such as a child guidance unit should be
used to cover both child guidance centre and child guidance clinic.
In November, 1948, a report was prepared on the position with regard to child
guidance in London for discussion with the regional psychiatrists at a conference held
in January, 1949. General agreement was reached on the following points: it was felt
that clinics should not be separated from centres; that it would be too complicated to
work out for allocation of cost between the regional hospital boards and the Council how
much time was spent on diagnosis and how much on treatment, and that as an alternative
the psychiatrist should be appointed and paid by the regional hospital boards, but
that the local education authorities should be associated with the appointment; the
psychologists and the psychiatric social workers should be appointed and remain on the
staff of the local education authorities; the premises should be provided and maintained
by the regional hospital boards, if they were in hospitals, or by the local education
authority, if they were in ad hoc premises. It was appreciated that difficulties would be
encountered in established clinics and in clinics provided by the teaching hospitals,
which would not wish to transfer existing psychologists and psychiatric social workers
to the local education authorities. It was decided, however, to defer further discussions
pending a decision about to be given on these suggestions by the regional hospital
boards and the Council.
A further survey of psychiatric services in London was completed in April, 1949,
and was followed by a conference on 3rd June, 1949, with the psychiatrist of the metropolitan
regional hospital boards. The School Medical Officer outlined the plan which it
was proposed to submit to the Council for the provision of six additional child guidance
units in London. It was considered that one unit should be provided for each 30,000
school children where existing facilities were inadequate. It was agreed that the scheme,
as outlined, would not embarrass the regional hospital boards and that no further
child guidance clinics to serve London school children would be established at regional
hospital boards' hospitals without prior consultation with the Council. It was also agreed
that the teaching hospitals concerned should be informed of the discussions that had
taken place and of the Council's plans for development and, further that they should
be asked to inform the Council of any plans which they might have for development.
There are now four Council child guidance units—Battersea, Woodberry Down,
Brixton, and Earls Court.
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