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maintain patients in the community following a period in a psychiatric hospital and re-integrating
the patient fully into society.
There are a number of necessary improvements in the Borough's services for the mentally ill
at the present time and these were considered during the year as part of the general review of
the Council's services. One of the first considerations is a residential home for the elderly mentally
confused which is a growing problem as the population of the elderly increases.
Needs for the supervised home and an unsupervised home were identified, together with a
further hostel for the mentally ill particularly as a psychiatric unit has been opened at the local
general hospital. This unit is likely to bring hospital and local authority services closer together
and it is likely that the demand for local authority assistance will grow as this hospital unit develops.
In the following report on subnormality, as with mental illness, figures show an increase
over other years. It is thought that one reason for this is that cases are brought to light earlier by
the Observation and At Risk Registers, and therefore cases are assessed earlier accordingly. This
provides only an apparent increase in numbers, but the recent advances in Paediatric Surgery
have produced a very real increase.
As mentioned in the report, the Junior Training Centre has a waiting list that is far too large
and arrangements to accommodate a number of these children in temporary accommodation
supported by temporarily appointed staff were completed during the year. It is hoped that the
majority of the out-borough cases in attendance at the Junior Training Centre will have been
removed by the Autumn of 1971 so that those in the temporary accommodation can be returned
to the main centre.
As with the mentally ill, needs were identified for improvements in the facilities for the
mentally subnormal to meet growing pressures, not only from the hospital service but from parents
who are under considerable stress coping with a subnormal child within the family group. The
development plan envisages further residential facilities and changes in the present facilities for
day care.
It will be seen that the need for the Local Authority mental health service is a growing one,
and it is only to be hoped that with the integration of this service under the Social Services Act
with other welfare services of the Borough, it will be enhanced to the benefit of all concerned
who need assistance owing to mental disorder.
Mental Illness
Mr. L. R. Bradbury—Chief Mental Welfare Officer
TRAINING
Until July, Mr. Petts, Deputy Chief Mental Welfare Officer, was away completing the One
Year Course in which he was successful in obtaining the Certificate of Social Welfare at Enfield
College. Three mental welfare officers have attended day release courses organised by the London
Boroughs Training Committee.
MENTAL ILLNESS REFERRALS
The number of cases referred for assistance by the Mental Health Section continues to
increase as shown in the table on page 60.
There has been a growing awareness by a number of General Practitioners of the considerable
support which Mental Welfare Officers are able to give to patients suffering from vague mental
illness. Mental Welfare Officers are repeatedly called in to advise and support clients who are not
able to cope satisfactorily with the problems of everyday life and/or crisis situations. The officers'
knowledge of the resources and locality of other social agencies both statutory and voluntary is
often of great benefit to the client and to the family as a whole. The early referral of such cases often
prevents the situation deteriorating to a degree when hospital admission is unavoidable.
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