The present position of the insane poor under private care in Scotland / by T. W. L. Spence.

  • Spence, T. W. L. (Thomas William Leisk), 1845-1923.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The present position of the insane poor under private care in Scotland / by T. W. L. Spence. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    which contain only two patients, and that in the houses containing three or four patients more than two-thirds are females. Houses containing two patients usually preferred : When three or four are received, coalescence with family life apt to be less perfect. The comparatively restricted number of houses which have permis- sion to receive three patients and the still more limited number permitted to receive four patients is to some extent due to the action of the Board. Permission is never given to an inexperienced guardian to receive more than two patients, and permission to receive three or four is only given subsequently upon the recommendation of the Deputy Commissioner who visits the house. The policy of the Board has been of late rather against allowing the reception of three or four patients unless the circumstances are exceptionally favourable. One point in the care of the insane in family to which the Board attach special importance and upon which they insist is that the patients shall share fulry in the life of the household, shall have the use of the apartments used during the day by the sane inmates, and shall take their meals at the same time and if possible at the same table as the guardians. Experience has shown that these conditions are not so easily attained in houses which have three or four insane inmates as in those containing one or two. A tendency has been observed in houses having three or four inmates to relegate them to special rooms, to serve their meals separately from those of the household, and generally to approxi- mate the arrangements for the care of the patients to the arrangements which exist in institutions. It has thus happened that houses which were excellent so long as they had two insane inmates have become unsatisfac- tory when the number was increased to three or four. These tendencies however when they appear are checked by the action of the Deputy Commissioners, and in all the existing houses having three or four patients it may be said that the patients share fully in the family life of their guardians and are constantly with some or other of the rnembers of the household during the day. Number of Insane Poor residing (a) Singly with Relatives or Strangers, and (b) with Strangers in Groups of 2, 3 or j. Of the 1677 insane poor at present under the care of unrelated guar- dians in Scotland, 1054 are in specially licensed private dwellings, the remaining 623 being in houses containing only one patient. Those residing singly under the care of their own families number 954, so that of the 263i insane poor at present under private care, i5o,7 are placed singly either with relatives or strangers and 10S4 with strangers in houses containing from two to four patients. This class of house has therefore