London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
East Ham 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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TABLE 38
MENTAL PATIENTS - LUNACY AND MENTAL TREATMENT ACTS
| Type of patient | Number on register on 1/1/51 | Admissions to institutions during the year 1951 | Discharges from institutions during the year 1951 | Deaths in institutions during the year 1951 | Number on register on 31/12/51 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certified - Males | 166 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 163 |
| Females | 206 | 40 | 25 | 10 | 211 |
| Total | 372 | 60 | 38 | 20 | 374 |
| Temporary - Males | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | 1 |
| Females | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 6 | 5 | - | 3 |
| Voluntary - Males | 93 | 44 | 62 | 4 | 71 |
| Females | 61 | 46 | 44 | 2 | 61 |
| Total | 154 | 90 | 106 | 6 | 132 |
| Grand Totals | 528 | 156 | 149 | 26 | 509 |
No„ of patients released on trial during 1951 -8 Males, 13 Females, Total 21
" " " returned from " " 1951 - 2 " 1 " "3
Of the above cases, on 1/1/51, 512 were inmfates at Runwell Hospital and
16 in other institutions. During the year, 144 were admitted to Runwell
and 12 to other hospitals, 137 were discharged from Runwell and 12 from other
institutions, 24 of the deaths occurred in Runwell and two elsewhere and
on 31/12/51 the cases were accommodated as follows 495 Runwell and 14
other hospitals.
The Duly Authorised Officers report considerable difficulty on occasion
in obtaining admission to a mental hospital for urgent cases of mental
illness. This is a very trying aspect of regionalisation to a Council who
formerly had provided a mental hospital to serve the community.
Admission is particularly difficult for old people whose mental disorder
is secondary to senile decay. Hospitals are loth to block their
beds with cases which do not admit of response to treatment fairly rapidly.
It is apparent no cure is possible in gerontic cases, yet these old people
must have suitable hospital provision in their own interest and to ease
the intolerable burden for their households. This problem in geriatrics
is truly one to be tackled in a more practical manner by the Regional
Hospital Boards.