The sixty-ninth annual report of James Murray's Royal Asylum Perth.

  • James Murray's Royal Asylum for Lunatics.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The sixty-ninth annual report of James Murray's Royal Asylum Perth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/46 (page 23)
    The deaths are attributed to general paralysis of the insane and puerperal septicaemia. There is no entry in the Register of Restraint and Seclusion, and no accident or escape has occurred. All parts of the Asylum were found in excellent order, and the condition of the patients was highly satisfactory. The brightness and cheerfulness of the wards and the comfort and elegance of the furniture and furnishings of the various apartments attracted favour¬ able attention. The Asylum provides in a liberal manner for patients of the middle and upper classes. The management, both general and medical, is dis¬ tinguished by great ability and conscientiousness. The elaborate method of casetaking adopted in this Asylum deserves commendation. It ensures a thoroughness and completeness in the study of the history and condition of every patient admitted to the Asylum. The records in the case books show how carefully and minutely each case is investigated, and how complete is the knowledge of the condition of each patient. Great skill is shown in the medical care and treatment of the patients, the majority of whom realise that everything is being done to restore them to mental and bodily health. Successful efforts are made to employ the patients, in occupations suited to their tastes and capabilities. Forty-eight gentlemen and 46 ladies are registered as being usefully employed. Efforts are also made to induce the patients to engage in games and amusements, and entertainments are frequently provided, all of which contribute to their happiness and contentment. The Asylum continues to perform a charitable function to patients of the middle class belonging to the County of Perth who are in indigent circumstances. The minimum rate of Board is £60, but there are at present in the Asylum 3 patients at £30 a year, 8 at A40, 2 at A50, and 13 at A52. The Directors contri¬ buted in 1895 from the funds of the Asylum A430 to¬ wards the reduction of the minimum rate for 26 patients. The comforts and accommodation enjoyed by these low rated patients are identical with those of patients paying