View report page

Ascertainment.
The system of co-operation with the various Local Organisations,
Officers of the Council, local Police Courts, etc., as is practised
in West Ham in the carrying out of the duties of discovering
the mental defectives residing in the borough is, I think,
efficient. This is evidenced by the fact that no fewer than 87
persons were brought to my notice for action under the Acts
during the year. It will be seen from the figures shown above
that 58 of these have been dealt with definitely, while the remainder
will be paid friendly visits, and assistance and advice given as far
as practicable. By far the larger number of these cases have been
notified by the Local Education Authority, which together with
the Public Assistance Officer form the main channels of information.
Supervision.
There are 434 defectives under supervision. Supervision is a
very satisfactory form of care where the home and surroundings
are suitable, and of course is considerably cheaper than maintaining
them in institutions. Unfortunately, however, a number of
patients are placed under supervision when they obviously should
be dealt with by being sent to an institution. This is largely due
to the lack of suitable institutional accommodation, and in a few
cases to the fact that some parents are averse to allowing
their children to be sent away. All of the cases under supervision
are visited at varying intervals, and all possible assistance and
sympathetic advice regarding the management and training
(especially of the children) is given. These visits are fully appreciated
by the majority of the parents.
Cuardianship.
This method of care is practised to a very limited extent in
West Ham. In addition to two Females placed under guardianship
under Order, there are two other women who have been placed
with guardians, one on licence from an institution, the other, an
elderly woman. The latter case was placed in this care following
the death of her mother. She has settled down fairly well. The
other cases have been with their guardians for some years and
are doing quite well. It is hoped to make further use of guardianship
for certain types of patients at South Ockendon Colony in
the near future, as a means of testing their abilitv to live away
from institutional care or to earn their own living.
Colony Accommodation.
The need for further colony accommodation for certain types
of defectives is still very pressing. A large number of those
defectives coming to my notice by means of the Public Assistance
71