ABSTRACT
During the course of the study year 384 cases, which complied with our definition of ‘mental health cases’, were examined in the three area teams. Of these, 145 were on active caseloads at the beginning of 1979 and 239 were newly referred during the year. Our basic classification of cases was determined by social workers’ response to them but involves a critical appraisal of this response. Some cases were not allocated to individual social workers and were dealt with only by the duty officer; but they received more than a ‘one-off’ service because they had repeated contacts with different duty officers. As in respect of newly-allocated cases, an examination of the reasons for closure throws further light on the type of progress likely to be made in long-term active cases. At the time of referral, no psychiatric diagnosis had been made in 47 per cent of the over-65s and 36 per cent of the under-65s.
