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local authority mental health social workers
who visit frequently.
The close liaison between Dr Herridge and
the community services continues to prove
most helpful particularly in obtaining early
medical assessment and effective use of the
council s resources and has on many occasions
obviated the need for hospital admission
The psychiatric clinic at Hounslow hospital
is now able to deal with acute referrals quickly
due to a close co-operation between the mental
health section Dr Herridge and Hounslow
hospital. At first the clinic had a long waiting
list and many patients referred did not keep
their appointments. As new referrals are
received by the hospital they are immediately
notified to the mental health section who carry
out an initial investigation This has helped
considerably in assessing degrees of priority
and ensuring more economical use of the
consultant s time
Dr Herridge s meetings at the health
department s mental health office continue to
form a very useful link between the hospital
service and the local authority and now involve
the nursing staff from Dahlia ward. The pro
portion of qualified social workers has increased
over the years and it is now possible to discuss
cases in greater depth, arriving at more accurate
assessment and providing long term prognosis
During 1970 it has become increasingly
recognised that there is considerable value in
bringing in workers from other disciplines to
case discussions which are also their concern
There has been no significant change in
the number of visits paid to the mentallv ill
during the year but the admission rate to
psychiatric hospitals has been reduced No
doubt the amount of support being provided in
the community through the familv doctors and
the mental health and other social workers has
influenced this trend
The formation of teams with a senior mental
health social worker in each of the three areas
has enabled a more parochial service to become
available This should enable a closer liaison
with the family doctor and other services in the
areas to develop.
A good relationship has been maintained
between the mental health team and St Bernard s
hospital but there has so far been minimal
involvement bv the hospital in the community
services
The club formed by the steering committee
of the Hounslow mental health association was
originally housed in St Stephen s church hall
When the health centre was opened at Bath
Road the club was granted the use of the
psychiatric day centre building for club meetings
on Thursday evenings The club membership has
grown gradually and a stage has now been
reached when club members are anxious to form
their own constitutional committee
The Industrial Therapy Organisation (Thames)
Ltd continues to receive some of the borough s
mentally ill for periods of full time training We
are grateful to this organisation for providing
virtually the only type of sheltered workshop
facility in the area
We are pleased to welcome as new members
of the staff Mr F Klette and Mr N Ramdhony who
joined us at the end of the year as mental health
social workers
Mr 0 Jikieme and Mrs P Cohen both started
courses for the certificate in social work in
the middle of the vear and we welcome back and
congratulate Mr F Vallarelli and Mr D Mason who
returned to us in the summer after successfully
completing courses of professional training
During the year we have been involved in the
training of students from various agencies
including Chiswick polytechnic Bedford college
Springfield hospital Queen Charlotte s hospital
West Middlesex hospital and other services.
The overall picture then of the mental health
service in general is one of continued growth and
development
A satisfactory level of service has been
obtained and the council s resources are being
well used When the service is transferred to
social services department in 1971 it is to be
hoped that especially in the initial stages the
existing quality of service can be maintained
for an/ falling off from its present level is likely
to have an adverse effect on the confidence built
up so far between the medical profession the
social work profession and the public and would
inevitably leave to a greater number of hospital
admissions.
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