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Admissions to Hospital
During 1965 eight patients were admitted to psychiatric hospitals. Of these, seven were
Informal admissions and one was under Section 60 of the Mental Health Act, 1959. At the end of
1965 there were 244 subnormal patients in hospital from this Borough.
The number awaiting admission for permanent hospital care at the end of the year was seventeen.
This situation causes much concern since there appears to be little hope of early admission
owing to the great demand on the beds at present available.
Temporary Care
Parents can obtain a measure of temporary relief by having their subnormal child in hospital
for periods of up to eight weeks. During 1965 twenty-seven such patients were admitted to hospital
and three to private homes.
Hostels
If an adolescent male patient appears to be having problems in finding or holding down a job,
arrangements can be made for his admission to the Working Boys' Hostel at Willesden, which is
under the auspices of the London Borough of Brent. At the end of 1965 there were three patients
placed at this hostel.
JUNIOR TRAINING CENTRES AND ADULT TRAINING CENTRES
Hillingdon Junior Training Centre
Hillingdon Junior Training Centre provides 104 places for both sexes; of which 24 are in the
Special Care Unit. The Supervisor of the Centre reports on the year's work as follows:—
"The centre has two main objectives, which are the satisfaction of the child's present
needs and the preparation for his future.
During the year 1965, it is felt that we have been reasonably successful in fulfilling
this plan, despite the difficulties under which the staff work."
Moorcroft Weekly Boarding Unit
This caters for a total of 19 severely subnormal patients of both sexes from the age of four
to eleven years. The patients reside from Monday morning to Friday afternoon, returning to their
homes for weekends and school holidays. During the daytime the patients attend the Hillingdon
Junior Training Centre. The aim of the weekly boarding unit is to relieve a family where the child
is perhaps awaiting admission to hospital on a permanent basis, or where there are very extreme
family problems.
The Matron of the Unit reports on the year as follows:—
"There were 19 children on the register at the beginning of the year, and 16 at the
end. During the year five children had been discharged and two admitted. Attendances were
good.
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