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Patients attending the Centre
31st December, 1967:
Brent 26
Ealing 2
Harrow 5
Barnet 3
Camden 2
Hillingdon —
Tower Hamlets 1
39
19
Work has continued to be supplied through the voluntary services, the Borough and individual people.
The opening of the Hostel, 9, Willesden Lane, provided good group work making net curtains, covers for the
divans and cushions, and bedside lamps.
Industrial assembly work has been supplied by the Industrial Unit at Shenley Hospital. This has provided
a range of work necessary to assess patients' speed, co-ordination, accuracy and adaptability.
Projects outside the Centre have been maintained as in previous years and individual outlets,
including Brent House, Neasden Junior Training Centre, W.R.V.S. and Senior Citizens' Club, have been
used consistently through the year. Groups of patients with an occupational therapist undertook office work
with Brent Council of Social Service. Decorating, cleaning and gardening projects, were carried out for various
Health and Welfare establishments. Swimming has been made possible with the opening of Willesden Sports
Centre, an average group of six patients attend regularly with an occupational therapist. Other groups
played tennis on local public courts. This has wide therapeutic value, giving exercise, confidence and participation
in an activity within the community. Art classes continued to provide very valuable addition to the
occupational therapy programme. Visits this year included factories. They were appreciated and gave a wider
interest, and had the advantage of making patients aware of modern techniques used in industry and work
conditions generally. Small groups continued to visit museums and exhibitions. A social worker from Shenley
Hospital continued the weekly therapeutic discussion group. Additionally a second meeting has been instigated
where staff and patients discuss matters regarding the practical day-to-day running of the Centre thus enlisting
the patients' sense of responsibility.
Channels of communication have continued to be maintained by regular attendance of the
occupational therapy staff at various clinics and out-patient departments of hospitals.
A "Do It Yourself" Club (The Thursday Club) started in May where members can attend under the
supervision of the Occupational Therapist one evening per week to develop the sense of friendship and utilize
the Centre facilities including tools to develop a craft as a hobby. A group project was the construction of
a puppet theatre with puppets which were presented as a gift to children of the Neasden Junior Training
Centre at a special Christmas party.
As the scope of the Centre widens the cramped accommodation no longer suffices and it is proposed
to extend facilities by the provision of a prefabricated extension.
Social Clubs for Mentally III
Two such clubs function in this area on two evenings per week. The activities of one of these are
mainly social and recreational, whilst the other's purpose is to develop hobbies. The former ("Gateway
Club") is the responsibility of the Chief Mental Welfare Officer, while the latter is run by the Head Occupational
Therapist.
Day Care for the Elderly Mentally III
The Harrow Day Centre, as previously, allocated 10 places/ for patients from this Borough. In spite of
distances involved, transport does not appear to be an obstacle to referrals, and at the end of the year seven
patients were attending.
Shenley Hospital
The Mental Health Division staff continued to keep in close touch with this, our only hospital for
mentally ill patients and to visit the hospital on numerous occasions. The hospital staff also gave generously
of their time to share common problems.
With a view to furthering mutual interests, particularly regarding the functioning of the Hostel, 9,
Willesden Lane, the appointment on a sessional basis (one session per week) of a hospital psychiatric consultant,
has been proposed. It is my opinion that psychiatric support of this kind will greatly facilitate and enhance the
work of the Mental Health Division staff.
On the occasion of Mental Health Week the hospital staff proved particularly helpful. All the
occupational therapy departments contributed items for exhibition and I would like to mention specifically the
help received from the Chief Male Nurse. It is proposed similarly to join our efforts for Mental Health Week
in 1968.
The past three years have brought great changes within Shenley "Hospital which should be to the
eventual benefit of this Borough. The revolutionary changes of treatment of mentally ill patients have brought
in their wake a humanitarian approach unthought of as recently as twenty years ago. From a practical point
of view this has meant unlocking most of the wards, doing away with iron railings, and last of all, terminating
the segregation of the sexes. It is this latter which has proved a particularly tricky exercise for administrators.
April 1965 still found Shenley divided up into three about equal divisions according to sex; one male and two
females (thus incidentally clearly indicating the sex ratio of mental illness). Male and female patients did meet
occasionally socially and casually in the grounds but on the whole segregation was quite rigid. Since then the