View report page

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mental Health Act, 1959.—The only provisions in the Act brought into operation during
the year (on 6 October) related to the informal admission of mentally ill patients to certain
kinds of hospital.
(As regards the mentally subnormal, it will be noted from the table on page 90 that
262 out of a total of 340 hospital admissions during the year were informal. These
admissions were arranged in conformity with Ministry of Health Circulars 2/58 to local
health authorities and 58/5 to mental deficiency hospitals, which became operative in
February, 1958).
The Council decided that during the initial stages of implementing the new Act and the
recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Law relating to Mental Illness and
Mental Deficiency, whilst important policy considerations would be involved, all matters
dealing with mental health should be reserved to the Health committee. In consequence,
the Mental Health sub-committee was not re-appointed. The Council also decided that,
so far as practicable, the day-to-day administration of its mental health services should,
at the appropriate time, be decentralised to the nine divisional health committees which
already administer other personal health services of the Council. Proposals for this and
for the development of the services were in course of preparation at the end of the year
for submission to the Minister of Health early in 1960.
Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts, 1890-1930 and Mental Health Act, 1959
The following statistical tables relate to persons alleged to be suffering from mental
illness referred to the Council's mental welfare officers. References to sections are to the
Lunacy Act, 1890, unless otherwise indicated.

*511 of these persons were first referred to mental welfare officers in 1958, 259 in 1957 and 1,104 in earlier
years: thus 3,704 were new cases in 1959.
The total includes 378 persons normally resident outside the County but some twothirds
of these were in hospital in London at the time of referral.

*These numbers exclude cases referred for a psychiatrist's advice by the mental welfare officer after seeing
the patient and before taking action.
85
F*