SPECIAL CASES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 17, 15 October 1919, Page 8

SPECIAL CASES

SOLDIERS IN MENTAL] HOSPITALS

THE ARRANGEMENTS DESCRIBED

A report on the work of the mental hospitals with respect to soldier patents is attached to tho annual report on mental hospitals. The InspectorGeneral (Dr. F. Hay) says there was no reason to anticipate that a disproportionate number of men of average mental stability would become mentally deramred as a result of the ? f ress nf war service. This anticipation happily proved correct. It is different with those predisposed to mental dif.ordt>r. "Wo recognised the soldier as the selected of the community between certain age limits," says tho Inspector-General, "and though under peace conditions some who looked phvsieally strong would have proved mentally infirm and como to us as patients in tho ordinary course, yet from n'.i equal number of soldiers passing through war conditions and of civilians of tho same ago rejected as soldiers we estimated a much larger pronortion of mental patients from the civilians, and undoubtedly the estimate hns proved correct. On the other hand, one r.nturnlly looked for a larger proportion of allied nervous disorders indirectly an.l directly resulting from war conditions, and also that 'these, in somo cases, would prove lo be- the incipient stage of mental disease. "Tt is absolutely necessary that all such c«f<\s should ha'vo the best exnert medical skill available, and it was arranged with the Defence authorities, that wo would specialise at Scacliff. where we could treat the. soldiers in three divisions, ■practically apart from'other -patients or only with a few civilian patients in a , liko mental condition and companionable. Tho divisions were:—For the lastmentioned nervousi group n house at Karitane belonging,to Dr. Tr.iby King was placed at our 'disposal, and this was strictly reserved for soldiers. Next, for tho best mental patients received under Magistrate's order the Reception Homo wa« to bo twd. This buildin? is known no Clifton House, and is beautifully situated on the Seacliff Estate. The next best patients were to V* tinted in the Library Ward at, Keacliff. This ivns our admission ward Wore Clifton House was built. Tor patients whoso mental condition debarred them fj-om admission to any of, these three divisions the environmental factor would bo negligible; but when, upon improvement, a chango could be appreciated, a change wonllbo made, according to the mental condition of the nntient, to nna of the special divisions. Keeping in view tho necessity for expert medical nttention and nursing, of which we had the monopoly, and bearing in mind that our own staff was depleted by the war, this arrangement offered incomparably the best advantage to the soldi<"\" Dr. Hny presents the following figures relating to soldier patients:— Received as Voluntary Boarders or Military Patients. As From Returned ■ Camps Soldiers T'l. Number of individuals Admitted 14 152 1(56 • Number placed tinder reception order ...,, 3 23 31 Number discharged;! recovered .' 10 100 110 Number discharged tinrecovered 1 9 10* Number died — 2 2 Number of individuals remaining — 13 13 Number readmitted and remaining •- 5 5 Total remaining on Aug. 4. 1919 '. - IS IS Received under Magistrate's Order. A3 Fromßetunberi Camps Soldiers T'l. Number of individuals admitted v 56 112 16S Number dis'charg'ed recovered 29 30 59 Number discharged ttnrecorered i 3 8 It Number died 3 5 8 Number of individuals remaining 21 09 90 Number readmitted re- ■ maining 2 5 ■ 7 Total remaining on Aug. , 4, 1919 23 74 97 Individuals classed as imbecile or' feeble-mind-ed and those who hnd history of mental disorder before joining Army 11 24 35 Individuals predisposed to mental disorder by ■heredity or personal habits before joining Army 2S 31 59 Of 168 patients, total predisposed to mental disorder 39 55 94 "Once the system was started," adds Dr. Hay, "there were importunate .and insistent demands to havo the soldiers treated near their relatives. Patients woro transferred, mid later ndmitted direct to somo of the other institutions to satisfy tho natural desire of friends and kinsfolk. This meant that, though Scaciilf maintained the ascendancy, the patients were scattered among all the institutions, mid their number at any one time at any other institution was so small, and the forms of mental disorder so varied, that any attempt lo treat them apart from civilian patients was futile. There was one exception besides the Anzac House Hospital, Karitane— namely, tlio Wolfe Bequest Hospital at Auckland, which was for a time strictly set aside for soldier.* who could lie treated without the necessity of a Magis- : trate's order. Forty-live such patients passed through this special institution, thirty-seven of whom recovered, and of the remainder six had to lie placed under Magistrate's order. In each of these cases there was well-marked mental disorder.on admi=sion, and they were placed in tho Wolfe Home experimental!)."