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For emergency rota duty of mental welfare officers outside normal
office hours at night and at weekends arrangements have been made with the
neighbouring Borough of Merton. This operates very satisfactorily and it is
intended that it should continue. The number of calls received which
necessitated mental welfare officers taking emergency action to admit
mentally ill patients to mental hospitals averaged two per week during the
past year.
Community Care Services
The Senior Psychiatric Social Worker was appointed on 1st May
and during the following eight months 46 cases of special difficulty were
referred from the following sources:-
Psychiatric hospitals 22
General hospitals 4
General practitioners 7
Children's Department 5
School Health Service 1
Welfare Department 1
Other Authorities 2
Self Referrals 4
At the end of the year 25 of these referrals were receiving continuous
after care either through home visits or office interviews and where necessary
relatives were also being contacted. Of the remaining 21:
3 left the district.
4 returned to hospital.
13 received short term care and were discharged.
Close co-operation with the psychiatric hospitals and the psychiatric
day centre has been encouraging. The Senior Psychiatric Social Worker and two
mental welfare officers have made regular attendances at the Cumberland Hospital
Psychiatric Clinic and a similar ward clinic at Belmont Hospital but it has not
been possible with the present staff to cover the four Out Patient Clinics at
St.Helier Hospital. The attendance of mental health social workers at these
clinics has ensured immediate follow-up of some of the discharged patients.
It is hoped that a greater coverage of out-patient clinics will be possible as
the mental health service increases in establishment. It is in the out-patient
clinics that early signs of mental illness are uncovered and it is here that
preventive care should begin.
Weekly seminars have taken place at the psychiatric day centre in
Woodcote Road, Wallington, thus affording greater integration between hospital
and community services.
Contact with other statutory services and voluntary associations has been
made and co-operation maintained. A keen interest has been shown in the
proposed local branch of the National Association for Mental Health.
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