[Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Somerset County Council.

  • Somerset Council
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Somerset County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    43/104 (page 41)
    1( is a i)leasure to record tluil tlie nmidier of cliildi'eii, on leaving the Centres, have been placed in renunierative einployinent in facto'y, domestic and agricidtnral work. The [)rogress made by most of the children attending the Centres has been encouraging. Licensed Patients. 'I'lic County Council are I'csponsible for the suj)er\is;on of 44 patients (Ui licence in this County from other Out-County Institutions. Close eo-02)eralion has been maintained during the year between the Staff of the fjocal Jlealth Authority and the South Western liegional Ilos])ital Itoard and the several Hos])ital IManagemeut Committees within the area of the Admin.slrative County. It lias been possible to come to an arrangement with the Sandhill Paik Croup Hospital Management Committee con¬ cerning the joint use of IMental Welfare Visitors in regard to the supervision of patients on trial or on licence fi'oni Mental Deficiency Institutions. Lunacy and Mental Treatment. The following cases were dealt with under the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts during the period 1st January to hist December, 1049;— County Area. Admissions., Total Other Action. Certified cases Voluntary cases Temporary eases Se<;tion 20/21 I.unacy Act Advice, etc. Social Histories Glutton 17 6 __ 13 36 82 Froine 18 16 — 12 46 49 Minehead 11 14 — — 25 38 Slieiiton Mallet 29 2 __ 1 32 24 Taunton 69 36 4 — 109 233 Weston-super Mare 51 14 — — 65 44 Wincanton ... 5 4 — 1 10 37 Yeovil 24 48 — — 72 118 Total 224 140 4 27 395 625 Hospital and Institutional Accommodation. In my report for the year 194(S, I referred to the hospitals situated in the County which had liLen designated as mental hospitals by the Minister of Health, and institutions to be used as mental deficiency institutions were also detailed. There has been no material increase in the uclommodation available in hospitals for either mental or mentally deficient patients. In the case of the latter, the position remains acute, aiul it has only been possible to admit fresh cases as vacancies occurred. On the 31st December there were 49 cases on the waiting list for mental deficiency institutions, most of these being young ch;ldren of low mental grade whose presence in their homes has become a very serious burden to the parents. During the year, the ])roblem of the accommodation of senile patients has become critical TIk'Sc ohl ])cople in.ainiv suffer from the hiirdi'ii of their years, and in most cases it is considered nudersirable that they shoidd be cei'tifii'd under the Lunacy Acts. It has been possible to arrange fur the admission of nineteen patients leferred to the Local Health Authority most of