Treatment Of Mental Patients

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32077, 27 August 1969, Page 14

Treatment Of Mental Patients

A resolution that the Methodist Conference urge the Government to increase its efforts to bring the staffing of mental hospitals to a satisfactory standard was approved by members of the North Canterbury Methodist Synod in Christchurch last evening. The resolution, which is included in toe annual report of the Methodist public questions committee, suggests that this may be done through the extension of training facilities in New Zealand and toe offering of adequate incentives to attract psychiatrists and other specialised staff from overseas. The report will be brought before the Methodist conference in November. The synod also agreed that the Conference should urge toe Government to expedite toe implementing of its policy of establishing psychiatric departments in public hospitals and that toe Conference should ask toe Government to

give some urgency to toe establishment of child psychiatric units, as recommended

by toe New Zealand Board of Health in its 1962 report. The committee’s report said that attention had been drawn at various times to a shortage of trained staff in the areas dealing with the care, treatment and rehabilitation of toe mentally HL There was a great need for psychiatrists who played a central role in programmes for treatment of the mentally ill, but the prospects of filling this gap seemed somewhat remote unless urgent action was taken. There was a world-wide shortage of psychiatrist* and New Zealand's own output was small. Staff shortages, coupled with overcrowding in mental hospitals, could be expected to have a noticeable effect on the standard of care and treatment which toe patients received.

Discussting psychiatric departments in public hospitals the report said that in medicine today, no speciality could stand on its own. “In tile design of major hospitals provision should be made for all medical and nursing specialities to be boused on the one site or as part of the same hospital complex," said toe report. “This enables the psychiatrist to consult wito other specialists when required, and other doe tors to have ready and frequent access to toe psychiatrist.

“Furthermore, the Inclusion of psychiatric services in general hospitals will provide post graduate training opportunities for house surgeons and registrars in a field„which will be of great importance

to them, whatever special!! they subsequently pursue.”

A major step in the integration of psychiatric and general medical care would come wito toe transfer of administrative control of mental hospitals to the general hospital boards, for which provision had been made in the Mental Health Bill, 1968, at present before Parliament. The report said, however, that if any significant advance was to be made in the field of mental health, toe community must become more sensitive and better educated. At present the public were ill informed and rather apathetic about the care of toe mentally ill. The Church must share in the responsibility for creating

attitudes that would foster toe development of the new community-based psychiatric services, and urging on the Government increased activity in this field. Church members and groups also bad a role to play in supporting toe mentally ill person during treatment and assisting in his rehabilitation on bis return home. This could be done by "adopting” a patient and taking a continued interest in him, or by participating in community projects.

The synod agreed to recommend to churches within reasonable access of mental hospitals that they inquire of the hospital chaplain wbat steps could be taken to assist patients.