View report page

country. These, however, are the only arrangements which the Council has been able
to make for the residential care of mentally disordered persons. The reasons for this
are (i) the conditions of financial stringency which have existed and (ii) the view which
has undoubtedly been held by the Ministry of Health that apart from accommodation
which can be provided by local authorities under the National Assistance Act, 1948,
the provision of long-term residential care for sick people has been the responsibility
of the hospital authorities. It is the Council's view, however, that many patients could
not be discharged from mental hospitals unless they could be given more supervision
than is available at ordinary welfare homes or hostels.
The experience gained at Dover Lodge, which was opened by the Council in September,
1955, as a hostel primarily for girls leaving E.S.N. Schools, is of special interest,
in view of the recommendation of the Royal Commission regarding the development
of hostel accommodation by local authorities. Since the opening, 19 girls have been
admitted ; of these, 14 were under guardianship orders and the other five were placed
informally (this being made possible when sanction was given by the Minister of Health
to the Council maintaining in appropriate cases mentally deficient persons in hostels
without judicial certification). In addition to the 19, there were two other purely
temporary placings.
Of those under guardianship, seven were still at the hostel at the end of 1957, two
had returned home, two had gone into lodgings, and one into resident work. Two
girls with behaviour problems had been admitted to a mental deficiency hospital during
the year, although one of these was allowed out again after a short period. Of the five
placed informally one had returned home after a short period, and three had been
placed in the hostel only a few days before the end of the year. It is early yet to judge
the effect of the informal placings.
The work record of the girls has remained consistently good, with only isolated
exceptions, and in no case has there been more than two changes of work while at
the hostel. The girls continue to be employed in local factories and laundries, and one
girl was placed as a learner machinist. There is good co-operation between the youth
employment bureau, the employers, and the social worker who is the guardian of the
girls under order at the hostel. The warden also takes a close interest in the girls'
employment progress.
The indications are—firstly, that the number of educationally sub-normal schoolleavers
for whom hostel accommodation is required immediately on leaving school is
smaller than was at first anticipated ; secondly that, as might be expected, the hostel
training is more effective where there is good co-operation and support from the
relatives and close friends ; thirdly—that even where there is such stabilising influence,
there is no simple answer to the problem which the care of such a group of mentally
handicapped adolescent girls presents. Although all reasonable precautions compatible
with some degree of liberty were taken to ensure adequate supervision during the year,
four girls became sexually involved with two rather unscrupulous men, leading to
police enquiries (which did not result in a charge), and a fifth girl became pregnant by a
casual acquaintance whilst on holiday. Much thought is still being given to the best
means of minimising the risks which are inevitably involved, while at the same time
affording satisfactory recreational facilities.
The hostel continues to afford excellent training in the day-to-day running of a
home. The girls play their part in domestic duties, including doing their own washing
and ironing. It is early to assess the value of this, but there are indications that, in most
cases, some standards are maintained after the girls leave the hostel.
In October, 1955, the Council instituted an arrangement whereby a number of
boys leaving schools for the educationally sub-normal were placed at the Wallingford
Farm Training School. As the period of training is normally about 18 months, it is now
possible to make some assessment of the results.
102