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Domiciliary Service
Persons who are, or have been, suffering from mental disorder are referred
from a number of sources to the health department for care and support in their
own homes. In many cases it is found that not only does the patient require
support, but also his family. The majority of the cases are referred by general
practitioners, who recognise the early symptoms of emotional and psychiatric disorders.
Psychiatric help and advice given by the mental welfare officers, sometimes
coupled with out-patient psychiatric treatment, often enables the patient to remain
in the community and prevents the necessity for his admission to hospital. A
special arrangement exists whereby emergency out-patient consultations at the
North Middlesex and Chase Farm Hospitals can be arranged in a matters of hours.
Another arrangement with the North Middlesex Hospital is the referral of
out-patients attending for the first time, to our mental health section for a social
history report on the patient and his family and 71 new cases were referred during
the year. This arrangement is proving to be of mutual benefit and it is hoped
may be extended to other hospitals when the growth of our service, as envisaged
in the Ten-Year Plan, permits.
There is a national awareness of the relatively high incidence of mental disorder
in students at establishments of further education. During the year a number of
students received counsel, advice and support to assist them in coming to terms with
their various problems.
Due to increasing demand on psycho-geriatric hospital beds there has been
some delay in admissions, necessitating domiciliary assistance to the patient and his
family during the waiting period.
The mental welfare officers maintain contact with patients in hospital and
endeavour to establish, where possible, an unbroken relationship with the patient.
Hospitals notify this department when patients are discharged home. A total of
254 discharges were notified and of these 156 were referred for after-care. This
is often a crucial period and the patient and his family require all the help and
support they can get.
A total of 4,512 visits was paid this year and there were 331 office interviews.
Compulsory Hospital Admissions
Where admission to hospital is advisable in the patient's own interests, or
for the safety of others, every effort is made to arrange such admission on an informal
and voluntary basis. There are, however, those cases where compulsion must be
used, often in an emergency, and during the year 122 patients were compulsorily
removed to hospital by the mental welfare officers.
Day Rehabilitation Centres
No provision exists in the Borough at present but account has been taken of
possible demand in the Ten-Year Plan, in which three workshops or occupation
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