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40
Mental Subnormality
Number of new cases during the year 107
The final arrangement made for these new cases was as follows:-
No further action 12
Number taken into Council's community care 89
Other community care 6
A further breakdown of the 89 persons taken into Council's community care
during the year, showing the type of care arranged, was as follows:-
Admission to private homes, etc. 4
Receiving visits from Mental Health Social Worker 89
Attendance at training centre 25
Other type of community care 6
Note:- Some people were receiving more than one type of care.
Total number of mentally subnormal persons receiving community
care at the end of the year 513
FAMILY CASE WORK
The aim of social workers in the Health Department is to help persons,
who have been unable by reason of physical or psychological defect to make full
use of the services available. Social workers at various clinics cover chest
complaints, venereal disease, child enuresis, obesity and hearing defects.
One worker is engaged at an Autistic Unit and there is a small family casework
unit working with multiple problem families.
The wide range of departmental activities lends itself to early detection
of both physical and mental problems, and preventive work at this early stage
makes sound economic sense. With this in mind a start has been made to integrate
the social workers as a team and to seek to improve professional practice
through regular consultation, group case discussions and office meetings. Much
interest has been expressed in the application of group work techniques and it
is planned in the near future to organise work of this nature with some parents
of problem families and patients at some of the clinics.
At the John Scott Health Centre, the social worker at the Special Investigation
Clinic for enuretic and obese children is participating with the medical
officer in the selection of cases where there are indications of stress within
the home setting and where ongoing casework with the family would aid the clinical
treatment.
It is essential for family caseworkers to carry small caseloads as much of
the work needs to be done intensively over a comparatively short period to enable
the family to receive the greatest amount of benefit from the services available.
Naturally, it follows that regular evaluation of the problems of the
families is necessary in order to determine the amount of continued need.
Many of these persons are handicapped physically and mentally and it
may be that their maximum potential is below that of the adequate citizen.
Once this potential has been achieved the caseworker needs to give serious
consideration to withdrawing from the case in order to devote time to
other families while realising that crises may develop from time to time
needing supportive contact and material help. Social worker trainees are
usefully employed and gain valuable experience from reviewing such cases.
This section continues to play an important role in student training and