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3. The less severe psychopath will work regularly if he can be helped to find work that he
likes. For the severe psychopath there should be controlled workshops so that his
time can be fully occupied away from his home for part of every day.
4. Those who are severely ill mentally can be helped but will always need support until
a cure can be found for their illness.
I have been very surprised at the amount of detailed work required in dealing with these
families. A full day-to-day history must be kept so that at any moment information required is
forthcoming. Reports have to be sent to different local authority departments, to general
practitioners, hospitals, marriage guidance counsellors and other organisations, and the writing
of them is very time-consuming.
Although there is a great deal of publicity about all services available to the family, I get
very many enquiries from various people needing help. Once they have been told of the statutory
and voluntary services available, they are quite well able to deal with their own problems. I
have felt for sometime that a ®Family Advice Bureau" would be of great value".
Miss M. Spooner, special services health visitor for the Tottenham part of the Area
commenced her work on problem families at the beginning of October 1959. She reports that
during her first two weeks in Tottenham she visited with the health visitors 24 families which
were said to be in need of more intensive care than they were able to give. Of these, four were
taken over as considered urgent and five from her predecessor who needed constant visiting in
order to keep up the standard already reached. Since then, four more families have been taken
over by request from health visitors and one by request from a head teacher.
Action taken includes arrangement for the settlement of debts, attention to the health of
mothers including visits to hospital, psychiatric advice for two mothers, the provision of school
meals and assistance with clothing. In one case primary education for a father was arranged at
his own request, and another has been persuaded to undertake minor house repairs and attention
to the garden. Appointments were made for a number of children to attend clinics from, which
they had defaulted and to return to school. The children of these families have a characteristic
lack of contact with society of any kind outside home and school. Successful contacts have
been made for many of them to attend boys andgirls organisations. Fourteen families have been
assisted in rehabilitation by the special services health visitor and the number of children
concerned in them was no less than eighty.
HOME NURSING SERVICE
The treatment of cases during the year may be calssifiedas follows:-
Injections 1058
General nursing care 604
Blanket baths 313
Enemas 218
Dressings 263
Preparation for diagnostic investigation 264
Pessaries changed 48
Wash-outs, douches, etc. 45
Attendance at minor operation 1
Other treatments 77