[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Kingston-upon-Hull County Borough.

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

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Kingston-upon-Hull County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/236 (page 14)
    To safeguard the liberty of the subject, Mental Health Tribunals have been set up in each of the fifteen hospital regions in England and Wales. These Tribu¬ nals consist of medical, legal and lay members and have the power to discharge detained patients from hospitals or guardianship. The implementation of the Mental Health Act has involved some reorganisa¬ tion of the Mental Health Section. All Mental Health Workers have been appointed under the Act and redesignated Mental Welfare Officers. This means that these officers are able to make application for the compulsory removal for observation for treatment of persons suffering from mental disorders. The Mental Welfare Officers undertake field duties in relation to the pre-care and after-care of the mentally disordered and for administrative purposes the City has been divided into three districts, Western, Northern and Eastern, with three officers allocated to each district. The year 1960 was designated World Mental Health Year and as a result of this a great deal of work, mostly out of office hours, was undertaken by the Mental Health Section in an effort to publicise the work done and the importance of sound mental hygiene to the community. Many exhibitions and displays at the various social events in the City were arranged and arising out of them numer¬ ous orders for the goods produced were given to the occupation centres. The opening of the Adult Department of the Holden Centre by Sir John Charles, K.C.B., Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, in October opens new horizons in the provision of training facilities and occupation for the mentally subnormal living in the City. This new purpose built centre, the largest of its type in the country, is the outcome of an experiment which started five years ago when three classes a week for nine adults were held in the After-Care Section offices at Lowgate. The new premises provide accommodation for 200 adults of both sexes and it has been planned to provide training, occupation and a variety of sheltered workshop activities for this age group of the mentally disordered. Much favourable comment has been made about this centre by the general public who have visited on open days and many requests have been made from all over the country to visit the centre. Since March 1960 a free chiropody service has operated five mornings a week at the West Hull Clinic, Coltman Street. Any persons resident within the City who come within the priority groups, the elderly, the physically handicapped and the expectant mother, can avail themselves of this Service on application to the Health Department. Since its inception there have been 592 applications for treatment and of this number 549 have been for elderly persons.