A review of hospital and related services in New Zealand.

  • New Zealand. Department of Health.
Date:
1969
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A review of hospital and related services in New Zealand. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    34/196 (page 32)
    any patients considered to represent a particular danger to the com- munity. 84. All psychiatric hospitals have shown in recent years a great increase in patient turnover so that the great majority of new admissions are now discharged in less than three months, often in less than one month. The numbers of long-stay psychiatric patients are steadily decreasing, although in most hospitals there has been a corresponding increase in the numbers of adult mentally subnormal patients requiring institutional care. Psychopaedic Hospitals 85. There are four hospitals with special facilities for the care and training of mentally subnormal patients. These comprise a total of 1,900 beds. Although these hospitals do have a complete age range among their patients, their emphasis is on the care of children and the trainable group of adolescents and young adults. For this purpose they have a wide range of training facilities. In New Zealand as in nearly all deve- loped countries, there are sizeable waiting lists for admission to psy- chopaedic hospitals. | General Hospital Psychiatry 86. At present there are in-patient psychiatric units within general hospitals in Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga, Hastings, Wellington, Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill. Being small units they must concentrate on short-stay patients. Within that limitation they can admit a wide range of psychiatric disorders. In most such units a high proportion of cases of alcoholism, drug misuse and attempted suicide are seen, since these disorders frequently present in their acute phase at a general hospital. Such units also provide consultation services for the rest of the hospital. The shortage of psychiatrists is the major limita- tion on development of further units of this type. 87. The most important voluntary organisations concerned with mental health services are the Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Society, Mental Health Association, Stepping Stones, and Recovery. There is also a large group of voluntary workers who visit Kingseat Hospital, and several hospitals have “Welfare Councils’ and similar organisations of parents, relatives and well wishers. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 88. The Minister of Health, and his Department are advised and assisted in the administration of the Hospitals Act 1957, the Mental Health Act 1911 and all other legislation relating to the provision and maintenance of hospital services throughout New Zealand, by a number of committees and advisory bodies, some statutorily established, and others set up by the Department, with the co-operation and assistance of interested associations and professional organisations. The more important of these are: (a) The Hospitals Advisory Council is a Council of six persons, esta- blished under section 7 of the Hospitals Act 1957, for the purpose of making recommendations to the Minister on such general matters relating to the provision, control and management of institutions, hospital accommodation, and services by Hospital Boards as it thinks fit, and on any questions referred to it by the Minister, relating to the performance of his functions or of the functions of Hospital Boards for the purposes of the Act. -32