London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Ealing 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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49
It is difficult in spite of increased staff to abolish the waiting
list. The potential waiting list is almost unlimited and once
referring agencies begin to recognise child guidance problems they
tend to pick them out with embarrassing frequency.
The trend of the demand for the service since 1945 can best be shown in tabular form:-
| Seen by Psychologists | Referred to C.G.C. | Seen by Psychiatrist | Waiting list at end of year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
| — | ||||
2. The Area the Clinic Serves.
This clinic now serves the whole of Middlesex Health Area 7,
Ealing, whose total school population is about 25,000, and also
Acton, whose school population is about 7,000.
We have, however, been seeing Acton cases only since
September 1953 when the move to the present premises was completed
and the full non-medical staff appointed.
3. The work of the Clinic during the past year.
In 1953, 200 new cases were referred to the Centre, the number
of cases brought forward from the 1952 waiting list was 54, making
a total of 254.
The number of new cases dealt with by the Psychiatrist was
154; cases withdrawn before investigation 38; 25 cases were
investigated by psychiatric social worker or educational psychologist
and advised; one case was passed on to another clinic; number
remaining on the waiting list 36.
An analysis of work done in the last year is given in the
attached tables I to VI.
4. Functions of the Child Guidance Service.
It is not, however, possible to summarise all the work of a
Child Guidance Service in statistical form. The Child Guidance