Abstract
In the wake of legislation overseas, Western Australia promulgated a new Mental Health Act in 1966, paving the way for the establishment of private psychiatric hostels in the community and the discharge from mental hospitals of many chronically ill, long-stay patients.
Highlights
In the wake of legislation overseas, Western Australia promulgated a new Mental Health Act in 1966, paving the way for the establishment of private psychiatric hostels in the community and the discharge from mental hospitals of many chronically ill, long-stay patients
Accommodating the chronic mentally ill in privately owned community hostels follows the pattern set in the USA, where a Californian study showed that about one-third of all the long-term psychotic patients in the community were placed in board and care homes (Lamb, 1970)
It was considered an illusion that these residents were "in the community" at all, and that it would be more realistic to regard them as members of a subsociety (Lamb & Goertzel, 1971)
Summary
There are eight privately owned psychiatric hostels in the Swan district. There were 213 residents on 30 June 1988,138 male residents (64.8%) and 75 female (35.2%). More than 75% of residents were aged 5079 years, which suggested that we were dealing with a population of elderly chronic residents. This was confirmed when the length of stay was considered. The destinations of the 69 residents who left are as follows: died 15; readmitted to Graylands 11; trans ferred to a nursing home 10;returned to family or the community 20; admitted to a psychiatric unit two; admitted to a general hospital five; other six. A comparatively small number was readmitted to Graylands Hospital and in this sense the hostel programme was highly successful The outcome for those residents who left the hostel system to return to the community was unknown. The 132residents were studied more fully as a sub-group
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
