THE ASYLUM AND THE REFUGES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9108, 17 July 1888, Page 5

THE ASYLUM AND THE REFUGES.

At the meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board last evening the following letter was read from Dr. McGregor, relative to old people from the Refuges being sent to the Lunatic Asylum —

Lunacy Office, Wellington, 3rd July, 1888. To the Secretary Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. Sir,l regret very much that any statements of mine should have given offence to any members of your Board, and I hasten to assure them that in making the statements complained of I ,was not specially thinking of the • Auckland Charitable Aid Board. I was pointing out a general tendency to send helpless and friendless old people, whose faculties had failed simply from old age, to our Lunatic Asylums. /The only reason why I mentioned Auckland at all in this connection was because both the Deputy-Inspector, the Official Visitors, and the Resident Magistrates had already called attention to the evil in Auckland. I might plead that the allegations made by these responsible persons, acting in their official capacity, were sufficient warrant for what I said, but > I waive that, for I acknowledge the right of the . Board to demand an explicit statement of the facts on which I based the opinions expressed in my report. In the first place then I beg to point out that I was endeavouring to counteract a very great evil which has grown up, especially in recent years. The tendency, namely,, to make use of our lunatic asylums to harbour persons who are incapable of being benefitted there, and who, though their minds are affected, are not dangerous either to themselves or others. lam of opinion that owing to the nonexistence of suitable refuges in Auckland and elsewhere, persons are sent to the asylum, and the officers are obliged to admit them, who, if suitable places were provided, I should at once recommend for discharge, or even refuse to admit at all. What I meant to say in my report, and I am sorry that my words seem not to have been sufficiently explicit, was, that in these circumstances the resident magistrates, the asylum authorities, the certifying doctors, and the local bodies themselves were practically forced to do what in other circumstances they would not think of doing, namely, to send old people whose faculties were simply failing from senile decay to a lunatic asylum. From a list lying before me, I give at your request the following cases as being of this description :— Henry Cummings, certified on February 19 by Drs. Bond and Girdler, and referred to by Mr. Smith in the letter I published; age 60. 2. Andrew Bonar, committed by the Resident Magistrate, certified December 29 by Drs. Haines and Girdler; died February 2, age 78. 3. William Curtis, committed by the Resident Magistrate, certified by Drs. Haines and Macmullen, February 10; died June 4, age 60. These are three out of sixteen cases which Dr. Cremonini says might have been cared for in a refuge, and who could not benefit by being sent to an asylum. . I will now give the names of persons actually sent from the Auckland Hospital and Refuges who were suffering from mere senile decay :—l. Rebecca Spiers, 85, Refuge; committed by the Resident Magistrate, certified by Drs. Girdler and Macmullen, the latter of whom added the following note to his certificate "Her weak intellect is the result of old age, and it would be much better that she should be kept at the Refuge if possible, i but Mrs. Brophy assures me that there is no suitable accommodation or attendants for such a case ;"

incurable. 2. David Horton, April 30, i committee by the Resident Magistrate, Refuge; certified by Drs. Haines and Girdler; incurable, age 83. 3. May 27, P. Pearce, age 65, Refuge; committed by, the Resident Magistrate, certified by Drs. . Macmullen and Scott; incurable. I trust the Board will exonerate me from' any desire to attach blame to anyone unjustly, and a.cept my assurance that Sit was the system and not either the Board or persons that I was animadverting. on.—l have, , etc., D. Macgregor. '~'■/,...'-. ~']..,'.,.,,;■ .■:'■.,. v.

The letter was at first received with silence. After a pause a letter from Mr. H. \ G. Seth Smith some time ago was read, in j .which the latter stated that the Refuge was no place for a certain patient. Mr. W. Crowther drew attention to this point. ,< >tif ■ - ,"■■: •i-jjf ;. ..;>; < Mr. R. Udy desired to know if they could not be kept there as cheaply as elsewhere. Mr. Atkin said that did not make any difference. ;■<., ,i: r:,-- ;■•■■•<■ /The Chairman said it opened up a new question whether any man like Cummings, who had means, was a man who should be taken in hand, by the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. ;> f

!,-. Mr. Sturges wanted to know if he was | not paid for? - »■ i . /".v i The Chairman* replied yes, but at the same time he did not think they had a right to take up such a case. The man had £160 or so in money and effects he suffered from delusions of various sorts, and the Board was abused because they did not put him in the ; Refuge f and when they sent him to the Asylum they, did wrong also. •'■■■■;' Mr. Crowther said if he had gone to the Asylum and insulted someone or assaulted him, how would the Board be then ? '■>;;; i Mr. Buckland suggested. that if they got taking people into the Refuge in this way, and any of them committed murder, the members of the Board would be arrested for manslaughter. v The Chairman said that, with regard to the man Curtis, they knew nothing at all about him, and were not responsible for him; and, so far as Mrs. Spiers was concerned, she developed such symptoms as a perpetual desire to make a fire under her bed. The Board were responsible only for four cases— three sent from the Refuge, and Cummings— the others they had nothing to do with. The Chairman also pointed out that there was still a vagueness about the matter. First of all, it was said there were, eighty cases, then they got down to 16, and now they had got down to four. Of the other 64 he knew nothing. He would, therefore, move that Dr. McGregor be asked to report on the other of the 16, or the 80, as he had reported on the four. He thought the matter should now be thoroughly sifted and cleared up, and he moved accordingly. Mr. Buokiand again reiterated that they had no right to keep old people when they developed symptoms of insanity, even if it was caused by old age. Mr. W. Crowther said Dr.- McGregor appeared to think no person should be allowed to be sent to, the Asylum except they were curable. He had seen numbers of patients at the Asylum who he believed the officials had no hope of ever- curing. i. The inference was that because there were persons in the Asylum who could not be cured,' therefore others who could be cured were neglected. The Chairman said if the Refuge was a properly constituted one, with a separate ward for such cases, then they might be able to deal with them, but at present they could not do so. j

Mr. Crowther said the boot was on the other leg, and that instead of the Hospital Board trying to shunt their old people into the Asylum, the Asylum people were trying to shunt their insane people into the Refuges. Mr. Niccol thought what Dr. Macgregor said should be dealt with cautiously. Some of the doctor's assumptions he did not agree with, and he thought the letter should be replied to. He moved it be left to the chairman to deal with.

Mr. Atkin argued when the Board had submitted the cases to medical men the Board had done its duty, and were not more responsible if the doctors reported the patients were insane. The motion of Mr. Niccol's was then put and carried.