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Shortly afterwards, the gradual increase in the number of children attending the
Centre reached the point at which more staff were needed; and at the end of the year the
addition of a further post of female Assistant Supervisor was under consideration, which
it was hoped might be filled through the training scheme.
It is felt that both these developments should do much to overcome the difficulties
associated with the care and training of the defectives. They should now enable the various
sections of the Centre to be further developed, and to be fully staffed by experienced and
suitable persons while at the same time providing resources to meet any of the normal
contingencies which may occur.
3. Duties delegated to Voluntary Associations.
No duties of the local health authority have been delegated to Voluntary Associations.
4. Co-ordination with Regional Hospital Boards and Hospital Management Committees.
The closest working co-operation between the Health Department and the medical staffs
of Goodmayes and South Ockendon Hospitals has been a particularly happy feature of the
service ever since the "appointed day", and this has been fully maintained throughout the
year. In the absence for the time being of a Psychiatric Social Worker, other members of
the staff maintained the links of the pre and after-care services.
The Council's Duly Authorised Officers continued to supervise defectives on licence
from institutions and to prepare progress reports. They also paid home visits and prepared
reports for any defectives in institutions whose detention orders were due for review, or
who were under consideration for holiday leave, licence or discharge.
(a) Prevention of Illness, Care and After-Care Work in relation to Mental Health.
(1) The absence of a Psychiatric Social Worker meant that no development of this part
of the service was possible during the year, but the pre-care and after-care of those
patients attending the Psychiatric Out-patient Clinic held twice weekly at St.Mary's Hospital
by the Consultant staff of Goodmayes Mental Hospital was maintained by their Psychiatric
Social Worker; and similar arrangements obtained for those cases discharged from that
hospital who were considered in special need of social care. A few selected after-care cases
were referred by the hospital for supervision by this department.
The arrangements for psychiatric out-patient clinic sessions at the appropriate
hospitals in the Borough continued unchanged from previous years. In this field, the
closest links were maintained between the general practitioner, the officers of the department
and the staff of these clinics, for it is well recognised that early referral to the
clinic by the family doctor is often the means of preventing a complete breakdown of the
patient and so lessening or avoiding the necessity for certification in many instances. The
statistics at the end of this section show how the increase trend towards voluntary admission
to mental hospitals has continued with the resultant decrease In compulsory action.
The Psychiatric Unit of Langthorne Hospital under the supervision of Dr.Herd has
continued to deal with the confusional problems arising in the geriatric age group.
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