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were accommodated in Leavesden Hospital and
the others in voluntary homes.
Residential Care (other than Hospital care)
At the end of 1968 residential long term care was
being provided for subnormals and severely subnormals
as follows:-
Under 16 years 16 years and over
In homes and
hostels 6 14
In private homes 2 4
Weekly Boarding Unit, Hanworth
This unit for 12 subnormal children started
admitting children on 30th September, 1968 There
was difficulty in obtaining suitable staff and by
the end of the year 8 children were in residence
Mondays to Fridays and attending the Junior
Training School daily. All the children admitted
seemed to settle down very quickly although
some of the younger ones were a little home sick
for the first week or two, A happy homely atmos
phere prevails in the unit which provides a much
needed service for the parents,
A period of 16 days short term care is planned
for next year during the summer holidays to enable
parents to take a holiday.
Project
Long Term Home for Subnormal Children
It is hoped that building will start in July 1968.
Mental Health Week
The third and for the time being last, Mental
Health Week was held in June and was actively
supported by the Council. Posters were displayed
throughout the borough and the training schools
and adult training centres were opened to the
public, also the hostel for mentally ill patients.
Films were shown and talks given in several
schools and parties of senior school children
subsequently visited the training schools and
centres,
Mental Illness
Despite the fact that the number of cases referred
increased slightly from 964 in 1967 to 973 in 1968
the number of admissions to hospital dropped from
387 in 1967 to 309 It is hoped that this encouraging
trend will continue It is thought that the following
factors may have playeda part in this decrease:-
(1) New drugs which are being prescribed by general
practitioners on their own or after consultation
with the psychiatrists in attendance at local
hospital out-patient departments
(2) Increased domiciliary visiting by consultant
psychiatrists to patients unable or unwilling to
attend out-patient clinics.
(3) The more efficient use of the Hounslow Hospital
psychiatric out-patient clinic. Mental health
social workers now visit the patients homes to
obtain social histories and to decide priorities.
Prompt treatment in some cases avoids the
necessity to admit the patient to hospital
(4) Radio and television documentary programmes
appear to have made the public more aware of
the services available and probably influenced
them to seek advice at an early stage in their
illness.
(5) Improved liaison with other social agencies results
in the mental health social workers being made
aware of problems before they get out of hand
(6) General Practitioners and others are becoming
increasingly aware of the facilities available at
the Heston Day Centre for elderly confused patients.
(7) Since the end of 1967 the mental health social
workers have restricted their case loads to concentrate
their efforts on those patients whom it was
felt would benefit by intensive help and where
such help would be most likely to avoid admission
to hospital Whilst this has proved extremely
successful it has only been achieved at the
expense of other clients in particular families
in which there is a subnormal child.
Liaison with general practitioners, the catchment
hospitals and statutory and voluntary agencies
continued to improve during the year and there were
signs that the public were becoming more aware that
in many cases mental illness responds to treatment.
The number of visits to the office by patients and
other members of the public for advice or information
during the year again increased. This form of interview
is economical of officers' time and is therefore
encouraged but it is not always possible for a mental
health social worker to be available in the office to
see callers who come without appointments
Experience indicates that there is a need for more
re-training and re-socialising of patients discharged
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