[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Portsmouth Borough.

  • Portsmouth (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Portsmouth Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    centres and hostels. He would also have extensive duties under the general health services (see later). (c) Psychiatric and other social workers, in addition to the present one psychiatric and three other social workers, should be recruited as available. The duly authorised officers (referred to in the new statute as ‘mental welfare officer’) will still be required where voluntary admission is impossible; at present there are three, and this is only barely adequate. Some increase in the number of these officers would seem to be inevitable. {d) Psychologists. I suggest that provision be made for the employment of a psychologist. The duties would include — (i) help and advice to individual patients and families; (ii) advice on psychological matters affecting major policy, e.g. relationship in hostels and homes, and slum clearance problems; (iii) consultation with and advice to other Health Department staff, and (iv) work in co-operation with the psychiatrist and psychiatric social workers. There is a possibility that a psychologist might be obtainable for a limited period, so that the usefulness of such an appointment could be demonstrated before it was made permanent. {e) Health Visitors can assist greatly in domiciliary mental and other health work. Their numbers are at present inadequate, so an intensive recruiting and training scheme should be adopted. Additional training of the present health visiting staff would enable them to increase their usefulness, and I have had preliminary discussions and understand help might be forthcoming in this respect from Southampton University. if ) Selected home helps with special training could also assist in the social rehabilitation of disturbed patients. I recommend that a trial be made with about six home helps who would be given additional training. As well as carrying out domestic work they would continue after-care under the supervision of a health visitor or psychiatric social worker. An example of this might be case No. VI. (g) The District Nurses could assist in the domiciliary nursing care of mentally ill patients. While this care would be appropriate to the patient’s mental illness, its provision would be comparable to that for other illnesses. (h) The Executive Officer of the Mental Health Section will be required to carry through and to maintain the extended services with clerical help as appropriate under the medical direction of the Senior Medical Officer. Staff for the centres, clinics and hostels will be required as these are provided. General Related Health Services 13. The general domiciliary health services may be considered from two aspects: Firstly, the range of services provided, and, secondly, how these may best be utilised. In view of the rapid developments in medical science, I would suggest that appropriate consultants be invited to act as honorary advisers to the Medical Officer of Health. This would have the further advantage of keeping the hospital and domiciliary services in step. 14. The range of services provided should, in general, maintain good health by attention to nutrition, cleanliness, companionship, occupation and the prevention of accidents and injuries, and, specifically, meet the patient’s needs for rehabilitation from a particular illness. In this connection, it will be realised that there are two groups of persons requiring particularly inten¬ sive help, in addition to the mentally ill. These groups are those with a chronic illness or with the fragility of old age. I would recommend that Dr. Er Haddon Minors be invited to act as honorary geriatric adviser.