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141
Child Guidance
Through various sources, cases of psychological disturbance
come to light and are referred, if necessary, to the appropriate
Child Care Guidance Clinic.
These Clinics, which are spaced throughout the district, are
held in Hospital premises except at "The Willows", Red Hill,
Chislehurst, which is the Council's own premises. The remaining
Child Guidance Clinic sessions are held at Farnborough Hospital,
"Stepping Stones", Bromley Hospital and at Sydenham Hospital,
which services the Borough of Bromley although it is outside the
geographical limits. One Consultant Psychiatrist is now responsible
for the Child Guidance work at local hospitals and at our
own Clinic at Chislehurst.
I am grateful to Dr. Rodriguez, Consultant Psychiatrist for the
following report in respect of the Chislehurst Child Guidance
Clinic, where he attends for four sessions per week.
During 1970 the demands on the Clinic have remained
practically unchanged. The number of children referred was 100
(1969—98). The median length of the waiting list has again been
reduced to slightly over three months. (1968—6 months, 1969—4
months); more than 66 per cent of the cases had their diagnostic
interview within two months of being referred. Many urgent
cases were seen within one to two weeks. As there is still some
lack of treatment facilities, we are still falling short of the goal
of early diagnosis and effective treatment for all the children
referred to the Clinic. This results in long waiting lists and continues
to cause frustration amongst parents and referring agencies.
There has been an increased number of children referred because
of poor school attendance (school refusal, truancy)—this reflects
a national trend.
As in previous years, every effort has been made by the
members of the staff to co-operate with other care-giving professions
through informal meetings, case conferences and lectures.
Mrs. Preston and Mr. Bennett have attended the Clinic to
carry out psychological assessments and also for regular case discussions.
We welcome the appointment of a third Psychologist—
Miss A. Galloway—who since September has taken up her duties
at this Clinic. Mrs. Cameron, as in the previous year, has continued
to work part-time at this Clinic, while still carrying on her duties
as Mental Welfare Officer. Let us hope that she will be able
eventually to give full time service here.
The post of Child Psychotherapist (part-time) was established,
but unfortunately there were no suitable applicants and the post is
still vacant.
Some much needed repairs and rewiring were carried out and
some new gas heaters were also installed. Any future increase in
the staff will highlight the limitations of the present building.
Seventy new children from the borough were investigated