London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Merton 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton]
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SUBNORMALITY
Cases in Community Care
At the end of the year 225 patients, as shown below, were in the community care of the Authority, as compared with 182 at the end of 1968: —
| Category of patient | Under 16 years | 16 years and over | Total | Grand Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
| Subnormal patients receiving routine home visits | 7 | 10 | 29 | 22 | 36 | 32 | |
| Severely subnormal patients receiving routine home visits | 46 | 33 | 45 | 33 | 91 | 66 | 157 |
| Totals | 53 | 43 | 74 | 55 | 127 | 98 | 225 |
| Patients included in above figures who are attending Junior or Adult Training Centres | 39 | 31 | 25 | 16 | 64 | 47 | 111 |
Special Care Unit
The Special Care Unit continues to play a most important part
in the provisions in the community for severely subnormal children
with additional physical handicaps. It is only with careful management
that we have been able to ensure places for Merton children
amid the numerous requests from other Authorities who would like to
have the opportunity of using such facilities. We have been able to
give limited help to our neighbouring Boroughs of Wandsworth and
Sutton, but it is unlikely that this will be possible for much longer.
Fortunately we have not yet been obliged to ask another Authority
to withdraw a child and it is hoped that, as we anticipated some years
ago, the opening of Wandsworth's own Unit and Sutton's eventual
arrangements, will approximately coincide with our own need for the
full use of the Special Care Unit.
The table below gives details of the number of attendances at the Special Care Unit during the year:—
| Merton | Sutton | Wands'th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of children attending on 1.1.69 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| No. of children attending on 31.12.69 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| No. of attendances made during year | 1,899 | 390 | 269 | 2,558 |
A very real problem to be faced in the not far distant future,
will be the facilities which will be needed for the care of persons over
16 years who have previously been in Special Care Units and continue
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