Mental Hospital Needs and Beds

  • The Editor

Abstract


On April 1st, 1961, in the Lancet, the trends in mental hospital populations were subjected to statistical analysis,* and the conclusion was drawn that the number of mental hospital beds in England and Wales could be reduced to nearly half, by 19 75. The authors of the analysis were a medical officer of the Ministry of Health and a Government statistician, and the present intention of the Ministry of Health is to act on their recommendation.

The authors had attempted to estimate the numbers of mental hospital beds which would be required by short-, medium- and long-stay patients by 1975 - The estimate for long-stay patients was necessarily a statistical projection, involving the run-down of present residents and the build-up of a new, chronic population. In the cases of the rundown of present longterm residents, they estimated that all would be dead or discharged by 1975. This is certainly at odds with the expectations of clinicians. A letter to the Lancet soon after pointed out that while the figures used to support this statistical projection were interpreted as for a straightline graph, in fact the figures formed a curve, with all the patients

How to Cite
Editor, T. (1). Mental Hospital Needs and Beds. Res Medica, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.2218/resmedica.v4i2.421
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