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51
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE
For the Mental Health Service, 1962 has been a year of promising
development. The difficulty referred to in my last report
of recruiting suitably qualified Social Workers has happily resolved
itself, and by the end of the year all vacancies had been
filled. This has in turn enabled positive advances to be made in
the creation of a Psychiatric Social Work Service in which the
Local Authority and Warlingham Park Hospital Social Workers have
joined together in a single integrated team. This carries a
stage further traditionally close Hospital/Local Authority ties
in Croydon, and further reference to the Social Work activities
are made in the pages which follow.
Other reasonably successful ventures have included the introduction
of a Boarding Out Scheme for the mentally disordered,
and the extension of industrial work facilities for the mentally
subnormal.
Administration
The Medical Officer of Health is in administrative control;
the Medical Superintendent of Warlingham Park Hospital serves as
Psychiatric Adviser under arrangements agreed with the Regional
Hospital Board, and the Deputy and two Assistant Medical Officers
of Health are approved for the purpose of the Mental Health Act.
There is a Senior Mental Welfare Officer, a Planning Officer,
five Mental Welfare Officers, two Psychiatric Social Workers,
one Social Welfare Officer, one Boarding-Out Officer, and a
Welfare Assistant.
Voluntaiy Associations
The only duty delegated to a voluntary organisation was the
care and supervision of seventeen severely subnormal patients
placed with the Guardianship Society. The service has close and
cordial ties with the Croydon and District Society for Mentally
Handicapped Children, who have organised excellent weekly social
clubs for the subnormal; the Mental After Care Association, and
the Croydon Guild of Social Service.
Work carried out in the Community
The pages which follow give details of the work undertaken
in 1962. I record' with appreciation, my thanks to Dr. MacKeith
in the staff of Warlingham Park Hospital, Dr. Gibson and Dr.
Richards of St. Lawrence's Hospital, and Dr. Ferguson of the
Royal Earlswood Hospital, for their help and co-operation.