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19. MENTAL HEALTH
The legislation under which the mental health services of the Borough operate
is the Mental Health Act, 1959, which aims to move the emphasis away from hospital
towards community care and when hospital treatment is essential to provide this
on a voluntary admission basis.
The services are divided into those dealing with the mentally ill and those
dealing with the mentally subnormal. The past year has been one of improvement and
expansion of the facilities for both types of patient.
MENTAL ILLNESS
Social Work
The social work for the mentally ill is carried out by the department's 11 mental
health social workers. Mental health social workers may be obtained during working
hours by contacting the health department and in cases of emergency after office
hours general practitioners can contact the duty officer through the control service
at King Edward Memorial Hospital.
Progress has been made during the year in two important fields. Firstly, a
start has been made in improving the training of staff, both by in-service courses
and by secondment. One mental health social worker has commenced a year's
course and arrangements have been made for a senior psychiatric social worker,
who shares her time equally between the mental health service and the Child
Guidance Clinic, to act as case work supervisor. This has made it possibl e to
provide newly engaged officers with improved training and supervision. In addition,
one mental health social worker has attended regular sessions at the Drug and
Alcoholic Unit of St. Bernard's Hospital. It is only by the provision of training and
supervision that the intentions of the Mental Health Act can ultimately be
implemented. The second development concerns co-operation with the psychiatric
hospitals for this area. The consultant psychiatrist at Springfield who is in charge
of admissions to that hospital from the Ealing area has paid regular visits to the
mental health section and monthly conferences have taken place. In addition, better
mutual understanding of the work of the hospital and the local authority has been
achieved by including a short period of training at Shenley and Leavesden Hospitals
for mental health social workers.
Social and Therapeutic Centre
In July the Council gave approval to a scheme to provide a social and
therapeutic centre in an adapted premises in Windmill Lane, Greenford, The Centre,
the object of which is to assist patients to make the transition between hospital
and life in the community, will be opened in 1967. It will accommodate between
25 and 30 people and consist of two elements - a therapeutic centre, which
patients will attend daily, and a social club, which will be open mainly in the
evenings. Attendance at the therapeutic centre will be on the recommendation of a
psychiatrist, whilst those attending the club will be referred by their general
practitioners, hospitals and the Council's mental health social workers.
In addition to helping those who have been in-patients, it is planned that the
Centre will undertake preventive work and avoid the necessity of many admissions
to hospital.
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