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MENTAL HEALTH

Editorial INSIDE THE MENTAL HOSPITAL Articles in previous issues, notably that by Dr. W. G. Masefield, have described the past and present role of the mental hospital in the community, and outlined the way of the future. They have, of course, referred to the work which goes on inside the hospital, but not in great It is, however, very important that the detail. general public should be aware of what is being done now, and what more could be carried out, if they are to encourage it; for, to take a simple example, if the possibility of voluntary treatment is not understood, and if patients do not seek voluntary admission, the proportion of early cases coming into the hospital will drop, and the impression will arise again that the hospital is merely a repository for the incurable. The more the community knows, therefore, the better. The staffs of mental hospitals have, of course, become so familiar with recent advances in treatment, in particular of physical treatment, that they do not always realize that prejudices still exist against admission, and that awe still surrounds the mentally ill and even the staff of In certain places, of course, this the hospital. is untrue and a great deal of valuable education of public opinion has been done, either by direct propaganda and even the use of public relations " or less and more direct old officers, " methods of curing the patient, and fashioned making excellent contact with the local doctor on the grounds that a recovered patient and a satisfied doctor are the best ambassadors the hospital can have. But even so, there will still be prejudice in some section of the population

and it is tragic that this is often in those quarters which need help most. We, therefore, make no apology for printing in this issue two papers on different aspects of in-patient work. In a subsequent issue we hope to be able to publish a detailed account, written by a male nurse, of what can be done for the most easily neglected of all patients?the chronic and deteriorated. Even where he has been helped by newer physical methods of treatment, he still needs a great deal of nursing care, and his health ultimately depends on this, and nurses write all too little in the medical press. At the same time it is useful to remember the whole setting of the community within the mental hospital and the way in which group treatment, to use the term broadly, can be The need is evident for the unification of all the members of the staff to combine into one team, each of whom fully understands the proper functions of the others and allows their various skills to have full play. All this is hampered in many places by lack of staff and by sheer overcrowding; and there can be few mental hospitals who could not put up a strong case for more doctors, more nurses, more social workers, and others?or for less patients. Some of this depends on finance, which indirectly in a competing range of social services depends on public opinion; some directly on public opinion which denies the value of the nurse and so discourages recruitment. This value can be enhanced, by making more widely known the results of good and patient nursing even in the most difficult of patients.

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Inside the Mental Hospital.

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