MENTAL HOSPITAL SCANDAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3016, 3 January 1912, Page 3

MENTAL HOSPITAL SCANDAL.

ALLEGED OVERCROWDING AT AVONDALE. GOVERNMENT REQUESTED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. AUCKLAND, December 26. Mr Ewliigton, official visitor to the Mental Hospital, reporting to the Government on the overcrowded state of the institution, soys: I wish the Minister for the Depart.ment, witli representatives of the Auckland daily press, would accompany me over the mental hospital any night at, say, 12 o’clock and witness the scene of horror consequent on the absolutely deplorable overcrowding. Even then they could not fully realise all, because the overcrowding leads to practices positively unmentionable except in strict official and medical intercourse, eo horribly degrading are they. Patients' bods are laid o|i the floor in passages, against the attendants’ bedroom doors, and the smell is repellent. The attendants have every night to lift tables and chairs out of the reading roof to make up a good many shakedown- on Altogether there are about 56 shakedowns on the floors, in the passages, and elsewhere. ■ A current of cold air runs along the passages, and we might ask ourselves how we would like to be put to bed -under such circumstances, or how we would like to know that while we enjoy a good bed at homo our wife, mother, or father is forced to lie on the floor in a passage such as is the case in the mental hospital. Mr Ewington urgently and solemnly appeals to the Government to lot promptly and adequately in this matter. REMEDY FOR OVERCROWDING. THE DEPARTMENT’S PLANS. CHRISTCHURCH, December 27. The Hon. D. Buddo was interviewed to-day regarding the disclosures concern--1 ing the Auckland M en tal Hospital. Mr Buddo said that an effort was being made to make provision which would cope, with the overcrowding which existed in ! the mental hospitals. Additions were ! to be made to the Seacliff, Sunnyaide, | Porirua, and Auckland institutions, and I he hoped that these additions would be 1 available at an early date to meet the i recognised lack of accommodation for 1 mental patients. The difficulty se* I ! to have come about through a cons me rj able proportion of the population starving i life in the Dominion at an age when | mental troubles were more frequent than i they are at a later period of 'He. The I statistics did not show that there was an excessive rate of mental affliction. The population had increased by 30 pet cent, during the past 10 years, and naturally the number of mentally afflicted I people had also increased considerably ' during that time. The result was that i there had arisen a necessity irx greater provision for their accommodation. It had not been anticipated that this increased accommodation would be required before the new buildings at Tokaanu were ready. The new institution was intended , for patients who would be benefited by ! outdoor treatment, and a system of classification would be put into operation there. It wculd relieve the overcrowding to some extent, but the additions would also be pushed on. He believed that a tender had been let for the additions at 1 Auckland. There had not been any complaint as to overcrowding at Sunnyside. but the additions there were considered necessary. He considered th&t < -r----crowding did exist in some of the stitutions, but Vie hoped that the pro' vs ion I which the department was making would i cope 'with the difficulty.