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Short Term Care
It is recognised that it is an essential part of community care for practical relief to be
given to families from the continual care of the handicapped member. It is frequently the
short term care rather than the supporting help which enables the family to go on. Voluntary
organisations are the main source of short term care vacancies and 46 patients benefited
from this service during the year.
Residential Care
Permanent care grows more difficult to obtain each year and many patients, both
children and adults, who require hospital care are unable to receive it either through
shortage of staff or lack of accommodation in the hospital.
The very heavy burden placed on parents is recognised and the council provides relief
where ever possible in the form of permanent care through voluntary organisations and
private individuals.
It is envisaged that the provision of additional Council own hostels will help to solve
the problem of both long and short term care. A small beginning has already been made in
the opening of a ten place hostel 'Harwood' on the 5th May for ten mentally handicapped
children; despite staffing difficulties a full service was maintained throughout the year.
Parents of the children are encouraged to have their child home, where possible, for the
occasional weekend and also for holiday periods during the summer months; this is not only
beneficial to the child but is effective in releasing a bed for short term care and helps in a
small way with the numerous emergency placements constantly required.
Adult Training Centres
The numbers needing adult training are increasing and although the Council has provision
for 40 places at each of the two training centres there is no doubt that the 150 places in the
adult training centre planned for completion during 1970/71 will be fully utilised.
With the increasing number of places more diverse training can be planned and it may
well be that with two or more centres a higher level of up-grading would be possible
permitting extension of development so that a greater proportion can be fitted for outside
employment.
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