Annual report of Graylingwell Hospital : 64th, 1961.

  • Graylingwell Hospital (Chichester, England)
Date:
1961
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Annual report of Graylingwell Hospital : 64th, 1961. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    bad, however, we brought about a reduction from 70 admissions in 1956 to 59 in 1960—a decrease of 15.7%. An out-patient treatment service inevitably shows its greatest impact on patients suffering from milder and more recent illnesses and these were formerly admitted to hospital as short-stay patients. Now that these patients are no longer being admitted it has been suggested that only hopeless and irrecoverable cases are now being brought into hospital. A follow-up study of these admissions, however, reveals that this is far from the case. Of the 284 patients admitted in 1957, only 8 are still on the books of the hospital. Again, of the 247 patients who came in in 1958, only 14 are still on the books, while for 1959, of the 269 admitted, only 25 remain. Finally, just eight months after the end of 1960, we find that of the 296 admitted during that year, only 31 are still on the books. It appears, therefore, that of the 1096 patients admitted during the past four years from Worthing and district, only 78, or 7.1%, are still hospitalised. Some of these patients, however, will eventually be discharged because it has been shown that 4% of all discharges occur after the fifth year in hospital (Tooth and Brooke, Lancet April 1st, 1961). W7hat is happening, of course, is that the cases now being admitted to hospital are similar to those in previous years, but they are fewer in number and for clinical and social reasons they could not be adequately treated as out-patients. A large proportion of the patients being treated as out¬ patients are suffering from depression and in some cases this depression is quite severe. Some anxiety has been felt that out-patient treatment might cause an increase in the suicide rate for the area. Through the kindness of H.M. Coroner, we have been given access to all the files dealing with suicides and the following are the facts: in 1956 (the control year), there were 20 suicides; in 1957 there were 22; in 1958, 21 ; in 1959, 20, and last year there were only 15 suicides in the Worthing area. Personally, I do not believe that the Worthing Service can have any significant effect on the suicide rate because it is well known that patients who are really determined on suicide rarely consult anybody. Where the background and family situation are favourable, however, we believe that those depressed patients who do ask for our help can be safely treated as out-patients. There should, however, be no delay.