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Ascertainment
and
supervision
The ascertainment of the majority of defectives and the oversight of defectives under
guardianship continued to be carried out by medical officers and social workers on the
central staff and the supervision of defectives in their homes by social workers employed
in four local offices. The boundaries of the four areas served by the local offices were
adjusted in 1948 to make them coterminous with those of the groups of health
divisions with which their previous boundaries most nearly coincided. The case load
at that time was fairly evenly distributed between the four districts but, largely as a
result of post-war housing development, the number of persons under supervision
in ' D ' district (Bermondsey, Lambeth, Camberwell, Lewisham, Deptford, Southwark
Greenwich and Woolwich) has, since then, almost doubled. As there is no particular
need for the district boundaries to coincide with those of the nine health divisions it
was decided, in order to secure a more even distribution of work, that Lambeth should
be transferred to 'A' district (Paddington, St. Marylebone, Westminster, St. Pancras,
Holborn, Hampstead, Islington and Finsbury).
During the year 20,698 visits were paid to persons under supervision or on licence
from hospitals and 1,155 to persons under voluntary supervision, while 1,777 enquiries
were made to ascertain the home circumstances of patients in connection with the
statutory review of orders and the consideration of applications for leave of absence or
discharge.
Petitions
9
During the year 171 petitions for institutional care and 31 for guardianship were
presented to Judicial Authorities under section 6 of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913,
and 49 children were placed in institutions by their parents under section 3 of the Act.
In no case was a petition dismissed. 30 applications for Varying Orders were made
during the year as a result of which 14 patients who had become unsuitable for guardianship
were admitted to institutions and 16 were transferred to other guardians. Five
children, whose names were on the waiting list for institutional care, were found at
special re-examinations to have improved to such an extent as to be considered educable
and their names were removed from the list.
Magistrates'
courts
The Council s medical officers continued to attend at Magistrates courts, as required,
to give evidence as to the mental condition of defectives charged with criminal offences.
31 such defectives were ordered to be sent to institutions under section 8 of the Mental
Deficiencv Act, 1913.
Institutional
accommodation
The number of admissions during the year showed a slight increase over the 1954
figure—276 compared with 270—but the number on the waiting list at 31st December,
1955, was 230 compared with 205 at 31st December, 1954. 12 children, whose names
were on the waiting list for admission to the Fountain Hospital, died before vacancies
could be obtained. The need for more hospital accommodation for mentally defective
persons became increasingly urgent and there seems little doubt that the waiting list
will continue to rise. At one period in the year the total figure stood at over 250 but
this was reduced by the end of the year mainly because of the opening of a new ward
for male patients at Leavesden Hospital.
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