Annual report / Province of Manitoba, Department of Health and Welfare.

  • Manitoba. Department of Health and Public Welfare.
Date:
[1961]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report / Province of Manitoba, Department of Health and Welfare. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/84 (page 11)
    SERVICES The open door signifies one of the most dramatic changes in the attitude of the public towards mental health. As science is begin¬ ning to reveal more and more the causes and the incidence of mental illness, people are beginning to see and understand that mental illness is merely another illness and that in fact, * more hospital beds are utilized In mental patients than all of the beds in general hospi¬ tals. With the advent of the enlightened popu¬ lation and new methods and care, no longer is it necessary in the majority of cases to keep mentally ill patients behind locked doors. The increased freedom and dignity given to the patient in itself, has a very real curative value. Indeed, it may be that in the future, mental illness for the most part will be treated by professional personnel directly within the com¬ munity. * To illustrate the changing concept, not so long ago, all patients were committed to insti¬ tutions. Today, a large percentage enter and leave the hospital at their own free will in much the same wav as they enter and leave the % * general hospital. Of particular significance is the fact that during the past year, hospital discharges from all the mental hospitals at Brandon, Selkirk, and Winnipeg have outnumbered admissions.* *For more complete statistical information,