SENILE DECAY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19166, 24 November 1927, Page 14

SENILE DECAY.

A HOSPITAL PROBLEM. At the monthly meeting of the North Canterbury Hospital Board yesterday, a letter was read from the Di-rector-General of Health, Dr. T. H. A. Valintine, regarding cases of senile decay. "I have to advise you," wrote Dr. Valintine, "that part of Dr. Gray's report covering the administration of mental hospitals had not yet been submitted to the Minister in charge of hospitals, but Dr. Gray had given the following summary of his views upon tho committal of aged people to mental hospitals: "No one would deny that many aged people become irritable, restless, degraded in habits, and irresponsible and difficult, to sneh a degree that they require care in a mental hospital. "It would be unfair to ask Hospital Boards to treat such cases in hospitals or in old people's homes. "On the other hand, for many years past, many old people who are merely suffering from physiological or normal seniie decay have been committed to mental hospitals simply because they were no longer able to look after themselves. These people are not of unsound mind; their mental decay is exactly | what must inevitably happen to each I of us if we live to a great age.

I "As these, people are not of unsound I mind, and as no other agency would undertake their care, we embodied in the Mental Defectives Act, of 1911. a class 'mentally infirm' with the definition: Persons, who, owing to their mental condition, require oversight, care, and control, for their own good, or in the public interest, such condition being one of mental infirmity, arising from age or the decay of their faculties, rendering them incapable of managing themselves or their affairs. ''This practically legated what had for long: been a "wrong'practice, i.e.. the reception of old people into mental hospitals. "Tho Inspector-General of Menta! Hospitals does not desire to rid his Department of any in the matter of caring for cases of insanity occurring amongst the aged, hut he does hold that it is wrong on every ground to consign old identities to an asvlum merelv because of senile decav. "Dr. Gray has stated that he would be verv glad if the members of tb-3 North Canterbury Hospital Board would arrange with Dr A. C. Melvillop, medical" officer in charge of the Sunnyside Mental Hospital, to interview Vome of the cases under discussion and satisfv themselves as to the facts of the case, and I would recommend that you get in touch with Dr. McKillop and arrange for such an interview." The letter was referred to the Benevolent Committee without discussion.