MENTAL HOSPITALS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1518, 14 August 1912, Page 5

MENTAL HOSPITALS.

Sir,—Examination ot' the majority of tho tiorerimicnt menial hospitals of the Old World suggests that they were designed to prevent tho cure of tlieir afl'licted inmates: .First of all, there is a hugo structuro whoro hundreds of patients are. congregated. This alono is a monstrous evil, preventing (lie first essential in tho treatment of mental diseasesquietude, instead of boisterous bustle. lii tho second place, the majority of such' patients require occupation ot the most agreeable kind, suited ,to tho peculiarities of the patient. It is not only next to impossible to these primary health-giving aids wliero hundreds aro huddled together in the same building, but there aro a score and more objections on sanitary and other grounds. To a large extent the centuries-old blunder of mental hospital buildings lias been repeated in tho new worlds. Look at New Zealand's mental hospitals. Does tho huge pile, of bricks and mortar at I'oriruii suggest that it contains hundreds of innocent men aridv women, or as many convicted criminals? And yet another huge blunder is to-be built. We have a superintendent at .£SOO a year, yet 0110 wonders whoso duty it is to keep Government and Parliament informed regarding the most approved systems of hospitals. The cottage system, which has been in vogue in the United States for many years, has proved the most successful of any system ever devised for tho treatment of mental diseases. In place of a big pile of bricks, imagine scores of lieat cottages, each with its separate plot of ground,'scattered over 50 or 100 acres, as the number of patients require. Such cottages may be put up and furnished for a few hundred pounds each, and with the gardens attached may constitute tho homes of the six to ciglit selected occupants, under proper supervision. There is practically no limit to the methods that may be used, to occupy the time of patients in and out of doors. Flowers and small fruits should abound on the premises occupied by female patients. The men require larger plots that they may indulge fancies already formed. Some shops to gratify pet notions may be required. In place then, of a big structure standing out in a big enclosure of perhaps 1000 acres, several small properties from SO to 109 afcres should be selected in suitable localities, and easy approach.. Besides 1 pleasing landscape, water and drainage facilities, the soil should be capable of producing fruits and vegetables in abundance. The foregoing ' is a very brief outline of the cottage system as carried out in America for treatment of the insane. Having proved so successful there, it certainly seems worth while to have our hospital affairs overhauled to ayoid tho continued repetition of absurd and exploded notions, tliat the most approved systems may bo introduced.—l am, c-tc., G. W. VAN SLYICE. ■Wellington, July 21.