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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 officer is pre- and after-care
of those persons suffering from mental illness including dealing with those requiring
compulsory detention in psychiatric hospitals under the Mental Health Act, 1959.
Both the mental welfare officers and the mental health social workers transport
patients in their cars to and from the psychiatric hospitals, in case of emergency.
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, they also assist couples in cases of marital difficulty.
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 are none of these establishments actually sited
within the Borough, Finchley children are transported daily by coach to the
purpose-built Friern Barnet Junior Training School and Finchley youths
and girls are taken by coach to the Edmonton Adult Training Centre.
A therapeutic social club is run for incipient mental cases and for those discharged
from psychiatric hospitals who are in need of after-care, at York Park Day Nursery,
York Road, Hendon, N.W.9, at 7 p.m. every Tuesday evening.
It is the County Council's intention to increase the above facilities and to provide,
in addition, hostel accommodation for the mentally disordered living in the community.
WELFARE SERVICES
Welfare Services under Part III of the National Assistance Act, 1948, are provided
by the Welfare Department of the Middlesex County Council.
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