News and Notes
Sir Leslie Scott.
The C.A.M.W. takes great pleasure in recording the honour that has been conferred on their Chairman, Mr Leslie Scott, in his appointment to the position of Solicitor-General, and the Knighthood which has accompanied it. Sir Leslie Scott’s share in the work, as members of the Executive Council know, is very far from being limited to taking the chair at meetings and conferences. His interest in it is personal and not official, and his support and help to those responsible for carrying it out have always been unfailing. His influence is wide and we have never appealed to him in vain to use it on our behalf for he has grasped, as few public men have done, the vital importance of the whole problem of mental deficiency.
May we then, through the medium of this paper, extend to him on behalf of our readers, our very hearty congratulations? Removal of Treasury Restrictions re Urgent Gases. The C.A.M.W.’s campaign has now been brought to a successful conclusion. In the Section of the Geddes Report dealing with the Board of Control and the Mental Deficiency Act occur these words:? 4 ‘If this were not an activity which we regard as essential to the physical and moral health of the nation, we would have recommended a substantial reduction in the Vote in order to enforce economy. In the circumstances we refrain from any reduction.’’
and on February 17th in answer to a question by Mr. Leslie Scott, the Minister of Health (Sir A. Mond) informed the House that he hoped “in view of the economy which it should be possible to secure on the mental deficiency service generally, Local Authorities can now make such provision as is essential to enable new urgent cases to be dealt with,” and that he was causing the Board of Control to issue a Circular accordingly. The Circular alluded to was issued on February 28th. Whilst retaining the original definitions of “urgent cases,” the Board informs Local Authorities that the financial restrictions are now relaxed as far as may be necessary to enable institution accommodation to be provided for such cases. No fresh schemes for institutions involving capital expenditure can be considered, but, if necessary, the Board is prepared to receive applications for the approval of additional beds in Poor Law Institutions where further accommodation is needed.
The Circular further comments upon the results of the inquiry recently made into the respective costs of various items per patient per annum in certain Certified Institutions which has revealed strikingly wide variations, and states that whilst giving due allowance to varying factors in determining maintenance costs in different areas, the Board nevertheless consider that in this particular department of the work there is room for economy, and hopes that it will be possible for Local Authorities to achieve something to this end.
For further details on this aspect of the subject we refer our readers to the Geddes Report quoted above which includes a Statistical Statement showing the variations in annual maintenance costs alluded to in the Circular?variations as divergent as ?58 from ?320 per head per person.* these figures being ?Second Interim Reports p. 89.
based on the total annual expenditure, on all counts, of the Institutions to which they relate. In order to encourage greater uniformity the Report recommenps that the Treasury grant towards maintenance (at present 50% of the total cost) should be changed to a “per capita” basis and coupled with provisions to ensure adequate treatment and economical management. This abandonment of the percentage system of grants in favour of a per capita system is also advocated by the Committee with regard to other services, inter alia, education. They appear to think it will facilitate economical expenditure by Local Authorities.
Economy and Special Schools. —————————In January last the Board of Education sent a circular to the Local Education Authorities warning them that in view of the financial position and the high cost of Special Schools* it may be necessary for them to restrict their total expenditure on making provision for Blind, Deaf, Defective and Epileptic Children in 1922-3 to the amount incurred in 1921-2?or possibly to even less than that amount.
Since the issue of this circular the Geddes Report has, of course, been published, but Special Schools are included in the category “Special Services”? comprising also Medical Inspection and Treatment, and Provision of Meals?and beyond advocating a general reduction in the total cost of these from ?3,900,000 (the estimated cost in 1922-3) to ?3,000,000 (the cost in 1920-21) the Committee makes no specific recommendations on the subject.
What the ultimate position will be is therefore still a matter of conjecture, but meanwhile the Special Schools’ Union is conducting a campaign in London with the object of bringing before the public the value of the work done in Special Schools.
ACTIVITIES OF THE C.A.M.W. ————————-Short Course for Teachers. ————————The 11th Short Course for Teachers of Mentally Defective and Dull and Backward Children is being held from April 17th to May 6th in London (Tudor House Newington Green, N), and although this year the Board of Education is unable to make any grant either for administrative expenses or towards maintenance, 40 students have been enrolled. The majority of these are paying all their own expenses and their willingness to do so is a striking testimony to the value which they set upon the Course.
A new feature on this occasion is the provision of opportunities for the special study of Backward Classes, which it is hoped will meet the need of teachers engaged in or about to take up this branch of the work.
Post Graduate Course for Medical Officers. ——————————————The fourth series of Post Graduate Lectures in Mental Deficiency, supplemented by a Course of Clinical Instruction, has been arranged by the Extension Board of the University of London in co-operation with the C.A.M.W., and will be held during the fortnight beginning Monday, June 12th, 1922, and ending on Saturday, June24th, 1922.
The Course will be based on the requirements of the Syllabus for the University of London Diploma in Psychological Medicine. Lectures will be given by Dr. A.F.Tredgold,Dr F. C. Shrubsall,Dr E. Prideaux, Dr W. C. Sullivan, Mr. ?On March 28th Mr. Fisher stated in the House that the average cost per child during the year ended March 31st, 1921, of Special M.D. Day Schools was ?27.
Cyril Burt, and Miss Lucy Fildes. The clinical instruction will consist of visits to Schools, Homes and Certified Institutions for the Mentally Defective and to Epileptic Colonies, and demonstrations of individual cases of defect by experts to small groups of students.
Fee for the Course:??5 5s. plus a Registration Fee of ?l Is. which should be paid at the time of application. No applications will be entertained after Monday , May 22 nd, 1922 .
The Course will only be held if a sufficient number of students is forthcoming. Intending students are therefore asked to send in their applications as soon as possible. All communications with regard to the Course should be addressed to Miss Evelyn Fox, at the University of London, South Kensington, S.W.7. Week’s Course for Secretaries of Local Associations. It is hoped that a week’s Course for Secretaries of Local Associations will be held during the week beginning May 22nd, 1922.
Special attention will be paid to problems connected with “borderland” and unstable cases, and cases of early mental disorder. Lectures will be given by medical men and others, and the secretaries will be given an opportunity of carrying out some practical study with regard to ‘ ‘borderland’’ cases. It is hoped to be able to provide accommodation for students in one building. Arrangements for the Course are not yet complete; full details will be sent to secretaries at an early date.
Conference on Mental Deficiency, Loidon, July 18th and 19th, 1922. A two-day Conference on Mental Deficiency will be held in Caxton Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 18th and 19th, 1922, under the auspices of the C.A.M.W. Details will be issued as soon as possible. Occupation Centres.
In the hope of extending interest in the work of Occupation Centres and of encouraging their formation, the C.A.M.W. is publishing a small illustrated booklet which is now in the press. Besides a general account of the work and objects of Centres, examples of their effect on the children, and suggestions as to ways of starting them, etc., the pamphlet contains photographs and appendices comprising “Suggestions for Occupations.” “Handicraft Classes for Older Defectives,” “The Legal Position of Defective Children between 7 and 16,” and “List of Existing Centres.”
The price will probably be about 6d. per copy and orders can now be booked. We are most anxious to see the number of Centres increased and we are accordingly about to launch an appeal for funds with which to help to start them in new areas. We hope for a generous response and should any of our readers desire to send us contributions at once we shall most gratefully accept them, however small they may be.
We should also like it to be known that we are prepared to send, free of cost where necessary, an experienced member of the staff to help the responsible local worker with the preliminary organisation in any area where it is desired to start a Centre. We shall too be glad to arrange at any time a Course of training in London for Occupation Centre work, varying in its nature and length to suit individual needs. All enquiries on the subject should be addressed to Miss Evelyn Fox, at 24, Buckingham Palace Road, S.W .1.
Handicraft Classes for Defectives over School Age. ————————————————We should like to record an interesting development of Occupation Centre work in the direction of Handicraft Classes for older defectives, which are now successfully established in several areas.
In connection with the Tpswich Occupation Centre there are two sets of classes, one for boys, held twice a week in the evening, and one for girls held on two afternoons. The occupations taught inelude rug-making and cane-work; picture colouring and framing; woodwork and boot-repairing (boys); needlework and knitting (girls), and it is hoped that eventually it may be possible to sell the work. Each class is taken by a teacher who receives either a nominal salary or gives her services free; games and drill are taught to the boys by workers from a Boys’ Club. Two sets of classes of this kind have plso been established by the Committee of the Lilian Greg Centre (London). One is for ex-special school girls over 16, 7 of whom meet once a week in the afternoon and learn stencilling and embroidery and blousemaking. The other is for boys between 14 and 16 who are still attend a Special School. It is held one evening a week and attended by an average of 7. Leather work is taught with great success, numerous orders being received. It is hoped that the boys will stav on after thev leave school and form the nucleus of an Old Boys’ Club.
In Croydon industrial work among feeble-minded boys and girls began on a small scale in the winter of 1920-21, when four girls and one boy were taught raffia bag and basket making at their own homes by a voluntary worker. The lessons were given once a week, and continued for about five months, when the teacher had to leave Croydon rather suddenly. One of the four girls has been able to pay for her own clothing with money earned by making baskets, table mats, etc., and selling them in her own circle.
This winter six girls are being taught rug making on small hand looms, with very encouraging results. They meet in a room in the Public Health Department of the Council and work for over two hours each Friday afternoon. The girls are most enthusiastic over the weaving and are producing quite saleable rugs. Four boys meet at the same centre on another afternoon and learn raffia basket making, and other two boys and three girls are being taught at home. With one exception all these lads and girls are over sixteen, and most of them have been pupils at the Special M.D. School.
The Classes are held under the auspices of a small sub-Committee of the Mental Deficiency Statutory Committee which has been formed for the purpose. Mental Hygiene in England.
With a view to carrying out in this country work on the lines of that which the American National Committee of Mental Hygiene has been doing for a number of years, a provisional committee of medical men with Sir Courtauld Thomson as chairman has decided to form a National Council for Mental Hygiene in England. Its general aim is to encourage and co-ordinate the valuable work already being done by the many associations engaged in the study of mental disorders, and the various problems affecting the mental health of the nation, and in addition it is hoped that such a council will help to establish Psychological Clinics at General Hospitals and so endeavour to diminish the enormous waste of time and energy resulting from minor mental disorders by educating the public in the principles underlying mental health and illness.
The Committee will call a General Meeting on May 4th, 1922, at 5 p .m., at the rooms of the Royal Society of Medicine for the purpose of deciding on the constitution of the National Council of Mental Hygiene, Amongst those who will speak on the subject will be Sir Humphrey Rolleston, Sir Maurice Craig, Dr. Henry Head and Sir John Goodwin. In the meantime all persons, lay or medical, who are interested in the movement and would care to have further particulars should communicate with the Hon. Secretary, National Council of Mental Hygiene, 51, Green Street, London, W.l.
Premier Gongres d ‘Hygiene Mentale, Paris, June 1st to 4th, 1922. The first Congress on Mental Hygiene has been arranged by La Liguefran9aise d’Hygiene mentale, and will be held in Paris from June 1st to 4th, 1922. The promoters of this Congress hope that it will serve as a preparation for a much larger International Congress to be held in New York in 1923. We have received a preliminary programme, giving the following five subjects for discussion:?
Les principes generaux qui doivent regir 1’assistance des Psychopathes.
La selection des travailleurs dans ses rapports avec 1 ‘Hygiene mentale.
Les methodes d ‘Education et. la Psychologie appliquee.
iv. Entente internationale pour les recherches scientifiques en rapport avec 1 ‘Hygiene mentale. v. L’Hygiene mentale dans la famille.
The Executive Council of the C.A.M.W. have appointed Miss Evelyn Fox to represent them at the Congress and she will contribute a paper on the Home Care and Visiting of Defectives in connection with the fifth section of the discussions. Further particulars may be obtained from the Secretariat General du Congres, Dr A. Brousseau, 1, Rue Cabanis, Paris 14e.
Royal Eastern Counties’ Institution, Colchester. ———————————————-This Institution has now increased the number of its beds to 830 by the opening of a fifth branch. As the high cost, of building prevents extension by the best method, that of building near to the main Institution, additional accommodation has had to be found by renting houses in Colchester or the district. The new branch is situated at Halstead and was till recently the Greenwood Industrial School for Girls. When the Trustees closed the school owing to lack of numbers, it was offered to and accepted by the Committee of the Royal Institution to be used as a girls’ branch school. It will accommodate 90 girls and the necessary staff and is in many ways more fitted for its purpose than the converted country house which has so frequently to be made use of. The day rooms, school rooms, and dormitories are all large and airy and there is a large hand laundry and a playing field of about three acres. It is situated in the highest part of the town with a good view of the surrounding country. In order to comply with the terms of the Trust a certain number of defective girls have to be received under the Children’s Act and the Institution is now therefore working under three different departments, the Board of Control, the Board of Education, and the Home Office.
Calderstones Certified Institution. ———————————-The Mental Deficiency Act Committee of the Lancashire Asylums Board have decided to take 300 Out County Cases, i.e., cases from Areas other than Lancashire, at their new Certified Institution, “Calderstones,” Whalley, near Blackburn, Lancashire.
The Medical Superintendent is prepared to accept cases of any age over five years, of either sex, and of any grade, epileptic or otherwise, provided that Authorities will send a fair proportion of high grade with low grade cases. He will not accept low grade cases only, nor troublesome criminals. The charge for maintenance is at present ?78 per annum, but it is hoped that this may be considerably reduced at an early date, as the cost of living has now fallen. Applications for Agreements, etc., should be made to the Clerk to the Mental Deficiency Committee, County Offices, Preston, Lanes.
OBITUARY. Sir Harcourt E. Clare. ———————-By the death of Sir Harcourt Clare, Clerk of the Lancashire County Council, mental deficiency work has suffered a severe loss.
Although occupied with multifarious other duties of high importance, his interest in this special problem was keen and his position as Clerk of the Lancashire Asylums Board brought him intimately into touch with the administration of the Mental Deficiency Act in that county.
The work of Voluntary Associations too found in him a confirmed supporter and it was at his instigation that the Associations for Lancashire were formed.
Mrs. Western. ————A member of the C.A.M.D. from its foundation, and also of the London Association for the Care of the Mentally Defective, Mrs. Western was yet largely unknown to any outside the circle of those who had personal contact with her, but she worked quietly and unceasingly for defective and sub-normal girls and took an interest that was maternal in each one who came to Alexandra House, Uxbridge, of which she was for many years Hon. Secretary.
It was the “Borderline” case which lay nearest her heart and she never relinquished her dream of a Borderline Home where expert treatment should be provided in specially chosen surroundings, but any scheme for the welfare of defectives found in her a friend.
Devotion such as hers is all too rare and it is with a real sense of deprivation that we record her death.
POST GRADUATE (MEDICAL) COURSE, BIRMINGHAM. ——————————————The Birmingham University have arranged to give a Post-Graduate (Medical) Course in “Crime and Punishment” from 15th May to 27th May, open to medical practitioners only. The Course will consist of Lectures on:? “Mental Defect,” by Dr W. A. Potts.
“Insanity,” by Dr Percy Hughes. “Crime and Punishment,” by Dr Hamblin Smith. and two Special Lectures by Dr Maurice Nicoll. In addition there will be clinical instruction in the Prison, in the Barnsley Hall Asylum, and in Institutions for the Mentally Defective. The fee for the Course is Five Guineas. Applications to attend must be made before 1st May to The Dean of the Medical Faculty, Birmingham University, from whom full particulars can be obtained.
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