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These five main fields represent natural groupings which in the Council's services are
already broadly covered by existing administrative arrangements. In this section of my
report the deployment of social workers in the health services is considered, but each field
must be regarded, not as a separate or self-contained service, but as one in which the public
health department is mainly concerned. In social work with families, the welfare, children's,
education and housing departments are all concerned and the work has to be closely
co-ordinated interdepartmentally.
Functions of social workers
This Council was probably the first local authority in the country to employ trained
social workers. The first appointments were made in 1908 in the education department to
work with the voluntary workers of the children's care committees, which were then
appointed to help with the implementation of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act,
1906; in 1917 the public health department appointed five trained social workers to
organise the medical treatment and follow-up of children in the London schools. Approximately
190 social workers are now employed in the public health department; they include
divisional treatment organisers, assistant organisers of childrens' care and social caseworkers
working under the supervision of a principal organiser of children's care at County
Hall, organisers in the tuberculosis and mental deficiency services, social workers dealing
with problems connected with venereal diseases, and psychiatric social workers in the
school health and mental health services. Furthermore a number of social workers is
employed by voluntary bodies which carry out work for and are financially assisted by
the Council.
Mental health services—In my report for 1957 I gave a comprehensive account of the
Council's mental health services. In that year the Royal Commission on the Law relating
to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency had issued its report, and many of its recommendations
have now been implemented in the Mental Health Act, 1959. I reported then
that the proposed pattern of services already existed in London.
In the field of mental deficiency, or subnormal ity as it is now termed, social workers
have been employed ever since the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913 came into operation.
Inquiries associated with the ascertainment of new cases were made by social workers
employed by the Council. Supervision of defectives living in the community was undertaken
by social workers of the London Association for Mental Welfare, until that organisation
was taken over by the Council in 1931. Since then social case work for subnormal persons
has been carried out by social workers based on four district officers, each under the
control of a local organiser. A senior organiser who is on the central staff has exercised
general supervision of this work and also, with part-time assistance, carried out the social
work at the Council's residential hostel for mentally deficient girls in work, some of whom
are under her guardianship. The duties of the social workers include inquiries necessary
for the ascertainment of new cases, visits in connection with statutory and voluntary
supervision, guardianship cases and those on licence from hospitals; they assess the
urgency of cases awaiting admission to institutions and act as a link between home and
the occupation (now training) centres. Most of the workers in this field possess a university
social science qualification. These social workers work under the general direction of a
principal medical officer, who is immediately responsible for all matters relating to mental
subnormality. Special welfare clinics for backward children under five years of age have
been held regularly in all divisions by medical officers experienced in both mental subnormality
and child welfare, assisted by mental deficiency social workers and health
visitors. There is a whole time organiser who exercises general supervision over the Council's
nine junior occupation centres and twelve adult training centres.
The important role played by the social worker in the care and treatment of the mentally
ill was early recognised by the Council, and psychiatric social workers were employed at
the Maudsley hospital in 1929, and subsequently in the mental observation wards of the
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