[Report 1962-1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Montgomeryshire County Council.
- Montgomeryshire (Wales). County Council.
- Date:
- 1963
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1962-1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Montgomeryshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![The existence cf an efficient and. flexible Mental Health Service 'will do much to relieve the misery and stress to which mentally ill and mentally handicapped people and their families arc subjected. The proposal to erect a purpose-built Junior Training Centre for mentally handicapped children at Newtown has been subjected to a series of frustrating delays. In planning the centre it was thought that any building provided should be capable of easy adaptation and expansion. ..There was, end there remains, an urgent need for this provision, and the set-backs referred go have been very disappointing. Ones experience with this project makes one somewhat pessimistic about the possibility of providing, without great delay sad difficulty, the services and establishments (Adult Training Centres, etc.) that Local authorities are called upon to -provide under the Mental Health Act, 1959 and for which provision has been made in Montgomeryshire’s Ten Year Plan. (At present this authority is operating a Junior Training Centre in temporary and adapted premises, and the hard-pressed staff of the centre are doing their best under difficult circumstances. It is to be hoped that they will soon be working in a suitable specially designed building). During 1963 a form of progress-chart was introduced at the Junior Training Centre. These charts are completed for each child at regular intervals, and enable one to see at a glance what progress is being made in each case. Another problem which may present increasing difficulties in future is th care of the elderly mentally infirm. Depopulation and other social factors result in an ageing population, and the numbers will probably grow of old ^people who are mildly confused, occasionally incontinent, and not considered suitable for admission to psychiatric beds, chronic sick beds, or welfare homes, and yet present too great a problem to be dealt with by support in their own hones. Tie question of how they are to be dealt with has been exercising the minds of the health and welfare departments. The solution of the problem is not yet in sight, and whatever provision is made ,if indeed- effective provision can ever be made, the staffing ratio'will have to be high and the service, will be a'very expensive . one 4 On the more positive side, in September 1962 this Authority started issuing oral poliomyelitis vaccine. This policy has proved successful, and the public response has been good. Children born since 1961 have been offered protection against Tetanus, and there has been a good acceptance-rate. In 1963 a start was made on tbe provision of this service to older children in the pre-school and school age groups. It is hoped that this valuable service will continue to be developed and that soon all children can be offered this protection. The figures for notification of cases of Tuberculosis continue to show the downward trend of recent years; and reflect the national tendency. The recession of this disease may be regarded as a modern medical miracle, and is probably due to many causes, but two factors should still be remembered as far as Tuberculosis is concerned, firstly, the emergence of drug-resistant organisms, and secondly the danger of the importation of the disease fr m abroad. Our defences against the disease should not be neglected, in fact the fa] I in incidence of the disease makes it more important that ever to ensure that patients are treated as early as possible, and contacts examined as thoroughly as possible, to detect sources and secondary cases. The Chest Physicians who give their services to Montgomeryshire were most helpful in 19b2 and 1963. In 1962 the establishment of the District Nursing, Midwifery and H. alth Visiting staff was reviewed. The Organisation and Methods working part had recommended, in 1961, an establishment figure which reduced the numb.-r of staff, the staffing figure suggested being eight Health Visitors and fifteen Dj_ rict Nurse/Midwives. (The Ministry of Health have for some time advocated that Health Visitors should be ’’’full-time, and that their duties be completely divorced from District Nursing and Midwifery). It was thought that the establishment suggested by the Organisation and Method party was impractical and unworkable, and Dr. J. Mery Pryce, the then Acting County Medical Officer of Health and Miss S, D. Wilson, Superintendent Nursing Officer prepared a report which was submitted to the Health Committee recommending the following establishment](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28862673_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
