Report of the Commissioners in Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor : 63rd, 1908.

Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the Commissioners in Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor : 63rd, 1908. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by a private collector for digitisation.

    444/602 (page 416)
    in our experience tends more to allay excitement and produce content¬ ment. No use of mechanical restraint or seclusion has been recorded since- the last visit. The returns for 1907 show that the proportion of actively suicidal5 patients under constant supervision at the end of the year was high,, namely, 4*5 percent. We hope that by frequent revision it may be found possible to reduce the number and thus diminish the risk of perfunctory supervision. Not more than 23 per cent, of the patients usually attended the* religious services on Sunday, but the small size of the chapel, no doubt,, prevents the attendance from being as large as it should be. The proportion of patients usefully employed was good, namely,, 62 per cent. An inquest was held in one instance, in which the patient’s death from heart failure was thought to have been accelerated by a fracture- of the femur occasioned by her having been pushed down by another woman. With this exception, all the deaths were due to natural causes,, which in 63 instances, or 76 per cent., were verified by post-mortem* examination. The only other serious injuries that have occurred have been the* fracture of a radius and the fracture of a femur, both caused by accidental falls, a dislocation of the shoulder sustained during a game of football,, and a scalded thigh caused by the upsetting of some hot tea. The staff is of very fair strength, and the duration of service is- satisfactory. We find that the attendants and nursed continue to have; all their meals in the day rooms of the wards, an arrangement which* is not at all desirable. Dr. Bowes continues as solicitous as ever for the welfare of the- patients and of the Institution. He still has the assistance of the same- two Medical Officers. We have examined the various medical records, and find therm carefully written up to date. Worcester County and City Asylum, Powick. 24 June 1908. Since this Asylum was last visited by Commissioners, on the 26th of February 1907, 266 patients have been admitted ; 342 have been dis¬ charged or removed, of whom 86 had recovered ; and 131 have died. The result of these charges has been a considerable reduction in the number accommodated in the Institution, the total of those whose names are on the books being now 980, as compared with 1,187 at the last visit. Of the 980, 436 are of the male and 544 of the female sex. The opening of the new Asylum at Barnsley Hall has been the means of relieving the overcrowding which had prevailed here for some¬ time previously. In August last 100 of each sex were removed thither under a reception contract approved by the Secretary of State, this course having been adopted in order to avoid certain difficulties which had arisen. There is now, according to the estimate furnished to our Office,, sleeping accommodation for 95 males and 85 females beyond the numbers on the books, and surplus day accommodation for somewhat fewer on the male and somewhat more on the female side.