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Mental Health Social Worker: Miss C. M. Coups.
Psychiatric Social Workers: Mr. E. Heimler; Miss E. Arkinstall.
The mental health social worker makes regular visits to the homes
of all the sub-normal and severely sub-normal females and males up
to the age of ten years and advises on all aspects of the patient's well
being and employment in appropriate cases. She submits written
reports on her visits so that where necessary the County Medical
Officer may take appropriate action such as arranging admission to
psychiatric hospitals either on a temporary or permanent basis. Such
temporary admissions, of up to eight weeks, are arranged to meet
acute domestic difficulties or ill health of mother. The mental welfare
officers deal similarly with the sub-normal and severely sub-normal
males over the age of ten years.
The main duty of the mental welfare officers is the care and in
part the after-care of those persons suffering from mental illness
including dealing with those requiring compulsory detention in
psychiatric hospitals under the Lunacy and Mental Treatments Acts
which will not be repealed until the Mental Health Act, 1959, comes
fully into operation.
Both the mental welfare officers and the mental health social
workers transport patients in their cars to and from the psychiatric
hospitals.
The psychiatric social workers are largely concerned with the
after-care and rehabilitation of persons discharged after undergoing
treatment either in hospitals or at out-patient clinics but also deal with
a similar type of case who may not have had to enter a psychiatric
hospital and in cases referred from the National Assistance Board
because of chronic unemployment.
As regards the general practitioners, they receive via the Middlesex
Executive Council, a schedule setting out the information given
above and also the procedure under which they may obtain the
services of a mental welfare officer outside normal office hours.
In addition to the home visiting service, there are junior training
schools for the young severely sub-normal and adult training centres
for those of sixteen years of age and over. Although at present there
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