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office hours can be obtained by telephoning County Ambulance Control
(Dryden 0231) who will arrange for the message to be passed on to the
mental welfare officer who is on call. A consulting clinic is attended on the
morning of the fourth Wednesday in each month at the Clinic, Elmwood
Avenue, Kenton, by Dr. Fidler of the Mental Health Section of the
County Health Department. This is particularly useful for helping parents
with problems associated with the care of a mentally subnormal child.
Mentally subnormal children who do not need treatment in hospital
normally live with their parents and attend a junior training school at
which, in the earlier stages, emphasis is placed on habit training in order
to help the children to become socially adapted.
The school for this area is now held in new purpose-built premises
at Whittlesea Road, where the pleasant, commodious and well equipped
surroundings must be of great benefit to these handicapped children.
In addition, arrangements can be made for these children to be placed
in foster care or placed under guardianship, or admitted to the County
Council's Weekly Boarding Unit, or admitted to hospital. This accommodation
can also be used as temporary placement of a child in order to
give the parents some relief from the strain of his constant care.
Mentally subnormal adults who require alternative accommodation
can receive residential care either through guardianship, foster care, or in
a hostel.
Mentally ill persons under the provisions of the Mental Health Act.
1959, are now being cared for more in the community, rather than in a
hospital. Hostel accommodation is a valuable link in this rehabilitation
movement, acting as a halfway house between hospital and community.
Naturally, some of these people may find the change to ordinary life too
much for them to cope with and so may require re-admission either to
hospital or even back to the sheltered environment of hospital. It is
essential that the movement from hospital to hostel to community and
vice-versa should be easy and to achieve this there must be very close and
harmonious working arrangements between the hospital and community
services.
Persons in Need of Care and Attention
Under the National Assistance Act, 1948, the County Council as the
local authority concerned makes provision for the welfare of aged,
physically handicapped, blind and partially sighted, deaf and dumb,
epileptic and crippled persons, and also provides (a) residential accommodation
for people who by reason of age, infirmity, or any other
circumstances, are in need of care and attention which is not otherwise
available to them, and (b) temporary accommodation for persons who
are in urgent need thereof.