MENTAL HOSPITALS AND THE VOTELESS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12365, 2 December 1905, Page 7

MENTAL HOSPITALS AND THE VOTELESS.

■ I TO THE EDITO* OT "TH* PRESS." Sir, While it mny, and probably will, be said tbafe any attempt to exploit the •neglect of onr mentaJ institutione and the interests of bheir inmates, for political cn<!e is to be- deprecated, yet your consistent advocacy of the ciuse for i years past saems to justify your action at this juncture,' an the beet meane of ensuring the. attention of political acI pirante, and extracting from them a ( promise of eomo practical help. j You aro no doubt quite right in your assumption that tie failure to effect any tangible reform in the care and j treatment of the mentally afflicted is ' almost entirely duo to tihe fact that i the inmates of our mentil hospitals are I voteless, while fcherr relations are indie- ; posed, ofton absolutely paralysed, from I the fear of identifying themselves and j their families with the affliction, from Pffsociating themeelfee with any cferaand 'or citation on the subject. They aro ; thus, as it n-ere, blsckmailed, and this j hesitation being well kr.own to politibhey take full advantage of it in their neglect of the "rotelff-s." I h-<ve often b*en wnrfsrel tJiat no ', M.H.R. has constituted h:»r/i>lf for I am cowvincsd that, ■ though "rotelp's" themsolvw. Biich n.n a'Jvoc-te Vonld o-arn nnd receive the heartf !t ct titnd*, respect, and suppart of a l"re;e section of fhe jvople. r> ' nnmcrotti are the rhipi and m-P7i f a! PiseafG in t.hr ooTimnnitv. Y*K. with the exof Mr T. E. T y!or, who was nvv<H by rour •stirrir-cr jirtidw? wmc tim-? b.ick. 'no polrtici'ii in- N T *w 55?a- ---. lid F:>r the last twenty yewe hae ra.vlo any ; n!elligeT»t. or 1 m-inl'ke nttemot to grrpple with the iftubket, thoiish I have many times of- : fered my experience in advising mem- ; bers of hoth parties. • ) I am not an wJmiror of Mr Tsylor's ' .' political principles, and do not intend to

vote for him, but this tribute is due t<. v him ironi one who has done-his best foi maaiy yoats in tho santo cause, and goes to show I do not regard the question from the party standpoint, but as one above and beyond ail party, and sordid aspirations, that should appeal to oar higher and humane instinctta. -. Indeed, I fearlessly tay, from a tvtYL - knowledge of aU that has conoernod our asylums for - the last twenty-one years, that one party as much as the other hae more or leas neglected these institutions, but the pr«sent Government might have been expected to accomplish more, inasmuch as they havo' had' - greater opportunities from tlie duiation of their otlicTai life, the inoreenlightened - treatmoat adopted hi ot'.kr oountriue ot recent times, and Uie porbiscency with which these and other progressive roforms h.ive been advocated and urged on them by the inspector, rayeelf, and others for many years. ■ ' Even now I fear there ia no hope of any suietantial reform in the methods of our mental institutions and the treatment of mental disease m its early etagas, when most readily curable, unless the subject ie taken up and made a burning question by some of our political • " and social organist-ionscontrolling (sufficient votes to be able to make their voices felt. In your leading article published to-day you refer to a previous letter of mine on this subject. _ In that lottor I promised to return to it before the elections, and that I have not done k> sooner is booafeo I havo been otherwise too occupied; but yonr reference to mc has moved mc to action, and must bo my apology for tho length of thi« communication. Of the many reforms I havo persistently pressed on tho attention of tho Department none perhaps is calculated to havo moro far-reaching effects than that of the change of name from Lunatic Asylum to Mental Hospital, which was only wrung from it in a partis and half-hearted way, inasmuch, as no alteration has been made in the Aot or tho official forme and documents, although an amendment of tho Lunacy Aot, (styled the Mental Hospitals BUI, has boon long promised and ia known to have boon prepared sotno time back. T!ho delay in putting it on tho statute .book is all the more culpable and plioablo seeing that.it would surely be non-con tentioue, but all the more forcibly illustrates the apathy existing on tho subject on the part of M.H.R.'e. The need of such an amendment of tho official forms ie well ehown in a case which camo under my notice within the last few days, where a parent was advised end, however reluctant consented to place his eon under institutional treatment, for when it camo to mako the application for his committal in the r _ form of the usual sworn information, he absolutely declined, because in order to satisfy tho official fora he would havo had to declare his eon a "lunatic.; He positively shrank from such b etapna. and was obviously pained by the thought of tiiue branding hie era. Yet how easy it would be to alter the Act ao bhat Uμ word "lunatic" would bo omitted. and the phrase "poreott of unsound - mind substituted in the official form, which would eatdafy a a feelings. ■ j As part of thus subject I may also. , 'refer to the continued objectionable ,* , mode of committal-™., through the ; police from the Magistrate's Court- < as if mental disease was a crime (it » still treated os such. I believe, in the criminal statistics of thia colony), for I well know this to be one of the chief deterrents to its early treatment, whereas there .can t be no difficulty in adopting the humane recommendations of the Inspector of Aey- , lums, in nis laet annual report, that a, ape* Sal room ehould be provided outside the court procincte, and disassociated tWrom for the purpose of examination and committal of <mch oases. Tie . delay in adopting Dr. Macgrogore euggwtion seems inexcusably .« ™& with the exception of the incomplete procedure for the change 6f,nom<incla. - , turereferwd to above, which costs absolately nothing, I cannot, call *° ™f« . \ any tangible reform in thifl connection.. True, something has been done at - ,; Seaoliff, on Dr. Truby King'e inrtiative, . in the way of providing early treatment . , in a detached building, styled, a receirj - ing home or ward, but still associated .with the asylum, and an extension m : ' promised some day, at Sunnyside, but I .- prophesy that such will .not have the "desired effect of bringing those patienta under early .. , treatment, and that ta long an those., '. buildings are located in the'teylum • ~; grounds and associated ■ with theM! eurv • <■„ round:nH3, including tho came management, the relations of poraone mentally - afflicted will hesitate and' delay « long a* possible in taking steps to place them _.«•■. under early treatment, thus teeing tolu- \ eKle time. No,-to be effective m the ->: direction, fiuob wards should, as I have ; y always advocated, be m connection, with - -■> the Genera! Hospital, for the "fsona ■which, I have also long urged; and th» -. 3 practioo is beng adopted elsewhere wit* •-- tKe best results. . " « :;•> "X llt is come years since I urged that „ * 1 some Isolated «ocomino2at:on ehould be v 5 provided for t>ose aevlum patients euf- . •{„• ferine from tuberculosis, who, owing;to ~' >• tneir offensive and oarelcnj. habite of "<* expectoration, etc., are specially-liable , Jl, to infect-healthy person* around them, <!t | including ottendante. a* wcll-ea fellow ; ;1 patients....... This coufd; easily. 'J* done - -;. ? ; under canvae, if tho country ifl not-able. c?s to benr the expense of a more permanent , ■-$ Rtrnctnro. Yet. Choqdi rqcom- . j mentation wee app-ovfd by the inspector a> the time,' wno promised to try to'jgiw , % v effect to it soon, nothing in tbie direcIJion liae vet bicn cone, ac farces. I , know. Wny 6 , iou l d we not exfrciee the 'fanie .'c*"c of cur mental Aβ , our •? peneral Hoep'tal for they-are ~ % not all coneigned to an asylum for Jjfe. jto be forpoHon, ci"C» «ime recftw. and Te-enter soc : ety to enrcad the dieeaee ~ they mny have forced .to eontmct \- rp in tne asylum. Thw prov;e-on h«* been . ;-};, made in" other .more' cnlifrii'enj'd tend o--proCT j !wivP countriw. but New Zealand - la behind. her people, for ■ r repfto'w as above fitatcd, and want of enli"nte.nmemt. ore nnathetic and her -,4? pnWio men Bocordjnfiriy indifferent. , ~-*j I e'so nrred 'one ep» tie trarisfcr ~ ~s of i>3t : ent« from «Tie apvlum to another, - \ for rtr> of chaw ; of air and cur- .-* ronnd'nßK, w»iic'i » well-known to liaye . , tb<* can cniativp efW »n mental cc in -.;■ '(iww. but it never been ? piven A« \t conid b*earri«l ' ,; , out with littlp or no thi» Fail- • nre to do m> v> nfl rt<« more inexpbo-. ( x ■ aY". *« well as incxcwaW*. . 1 T>« above are win" .of the refornw .VWSn-? to «nr mpnHl W™t«lV wnich • y mW io wU>» end , A I co"M tr««rHiTt n-anv of Here, but true .*.> commuttiention lin« «Ir<wly Jjrow» far lonrT f'nn T in+oTHert wnpn t*«r*rg ■" Tf "met «Iw>. T fear . ew,,m . "IP'T er /,t-Vic. hnt W* nowT ir/>nld to eiiT»m-<»« it-—can- . _; «'"1! be avoided under the arcumptancw. . *■ , . ~ Tf it any offpet. Tiowevw inriTiitee- % ? . imnl. in fti»*r+;Ti<r pnWc attaition to lon<r J~UvoJ rrtrrrm*. T Khali be amply