TO BE TRANSFERRED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 64, Issue 31, 16 November 1943, Page 2

TO BE TRANSFERRED.

SEACLIFF MENTAL HOSPITAL. | MODERN BUILDINGS PLANNED. tf (P.A.) DUNEDIN, November 15. The Seacliff Mental Hospital is to be transferred to a new site at Cherry Farm, near Waikouaiti. Plans are being prepared for a modern institution of the villa type, consisting of a number of comparatively small, well-lighted, comfortable buildings, in which patients •will he able to receive individual attention, both dietary and medical, with much greater facility than in the present hospital. The Minister in charge of the Mental Hospitals Department (the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer) announced this in a statement replying to criticism of the administration of the Seacliff institution, particularly by the Rev. J. Chisholm, formerly chaplain to the hospital. He gives details of the dietary provisions, and outlines the difficulties facing the staff in the outmoded buildings, and expresses 'the hope that these facts will do much to allay feelings aroused by the recent criticism.

“Representations were made to me some months ago regarding the diet and working conditions of the nurses,” the Minister says. “This matter was looked into, and among other things a neAV nurses’ kitchen was commenced. This was a departure from the Government’s policy that no new capital work be embarked upon at Seacliff. The policy was based upon the realisation that the mental hospital there is made up of unsatisfactory buildings, upon an unsatisfactory site, and on© to be completely evacuated as soon as buildings cap be erected elsewhere.

“The present criticism of the diet of the patients does not surprise me,” Mr Nordmeyer added. “Though exaggerated, I believe it has some basis. I have given an instruction that should result in a definite improvement.

“The first building was erected at Seacliff before 1880, of a type of construction now long outmoded for the purpose of treating mental patients. Since that time it has been continually added to and patched, and the institution is now an ill-assorted assembly of buildings, none of which is really suited to its present purpose. Steps might have been taken to improve this, but unfortunately the land on which the buildings are situated is slowly moving, and in these circumstances extensive reconstructional work was thought undesirable. The administration of a mental hospital is never easy. These circumstances give Seacliff problems not hmncl in other institutions. With adequate staff they might all be overcome, but at present, with'’ 23 short on the male side and 38 on the female, many things usually done to increase the patients’ happiness have to be left undone. The medical superintendent and his staff are doing,a splendid job under trying conditions. Conditions are, however, such that it is impossible to avoid all cause for complaint, and the Government has now decided to transfer the whole institution to a new location.” • '