MENTAL PATIENTS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18441, 23 July 1925, Page 14

MENTAL PATIENTS.

CLINICS AT GENERAL HOSPITALS The provision of clinics for "borderline" mental cases, at public hospitals, was considered by the North Canterbury Jfcspital Board yesterday. The Hospital Committee reported that a letter-had been received from the Director-General of Health stating that the Government had approved a grant of £SOO to each of toe Main Hospitals to enable them to make prevision for mental patients awaiting medical examination. The proposals were as follows:—(1) Out-paueius' clinics for nervous and mental patients'to be conducted weekly at fba-General Hospitals by medical orlicers of the General and Mental Hospitals staffs, .(is) To.shield persons alleged to be satfering from mental disaoilities from the humiliation and distress of being cast into prison, pending a decision. . The Committee .recommended that the proposal should be gone on with. Steps are being taken to comply with the request of the Department. The i*ev. Clyde Carr said the joint report of th>j Government Departments which considered the matter showed that there was a lack of psychological experts to judge the mentality of a patient. In actual fact, people who- were genuine, border-line cases were sent to prison time after time. He-moved that it be a recommendation to the Department that the services of qnaliiied psychological experts should be secured to consider the cases, and to do away with the disabilities that had existed. Mrs Eva Roberts and Mrs J. McCombs supported the motion, saying that it was an important addition. Dr. Fox said the Medical Superintendent at. Sunnyside . had selected rooms in the detention block of the hospital: and he would be the expert that the Rev. Clyde Carr had - asked for. The Hospital had always taken border-line cases in round-about wavs, and the mental hospital experts had been' asked for years to give" their opinion on them. The general hospital had not proved to be an ideal place lor these cases, arid it was thought that they might be sent to- a house at Hornby. This place had been bought by the Government and would be very suitable. Mr W\ E. Leadley said the scheme outlined by Dr. Yox was rather different from the Government proposal. If such an institution were kept up, the question of • what body -would support it would arise. ' .•'■

The Rev. Clyde Carr altered Iris- recommendation to read that psychological experts should he made available'in each centre, and it was carried.

On the motion of Mr .• Leadley, it ■n-as decided that the Committee should bo asked to consider xne matter further, and also to consider a'suggestion that mental hospital nurses should bo available at the clinics.