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of admission. The total number of cases in hospital at the end of the year
was 195 (105 male and 90 female), of these only 5 are considered suitable
for eventual placement in a hostel in the community.
Temporary Care
To enable friends and relatives to go away on holiday and/or have
some respite from their responsibilities, arrangements are made for
mentally handicapped persons to receive short-term-care in either hospitals
or private homes.
During 1970, 47 requests were received for such care, and of these,
31 patients were placed in hospitals and 16 in private homes or hostels.
Guardianship—Informal Foster Care
The policy of this Authority concerning Guardianship, is to avoid
formal procedures and informal placements are, therefore, made whenever
possible.
Patients who for one reason or another require residential care, are
placed in homes run by voluntary societies, such as the Brighton Guardianship
Society, private foster homes or hostels maintained by local
health authorities.
There were 39 patients placed under informal foster care (20 males
and 19 females) at 31st December, 1970.
Homes used by the Authority were visited during the year by the
Principal Medical Officer (Mental Health) and found to be satisfactory.
Harrow Junior Training School
This purpose built school was first opened in November 1963 for
mentally handicapped children between the ages of 2-16 years. There are
120 places and, at the end of the year, there were 96 on the register,
including 9 from neighbouring boroughs. Some 126 visitors were shown
around the school during the year.
The building consists of 3 classrooms, each of which is based on the
educational ability of the children, not on their age. There is a nursery
unit, an assessment unit and a special care unit for children, who suffer
from both mental and physical handicaps and who need specialised care.
In addition to these rooms, there is a domestic room for the teaching of
simple domestic work, and a hall which, besides being the dining room
for the older children, is well equipped with apparatus for physical
exercises.