The Weyburn experience: Reducing intake as a factor in phasing out a large mental hospital

Abstract

A sharp reduction in the population of a large mental hospital in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, was realized over a span of 3 ½ years. The population dropped from 1519 in January 1963 to 421 in June 1966, a reduction of over 1000 patients. Intake procedures were emphasized as the major contributing factor. Three developments are believed to have been instrumental in influencing admissions: o (1) the coordination of existing psychiatric services in distant communities; (2) the establishment of the Yorkton Psychiatric Centre; (3) the development of the Weyburn Psychiatric Centre as a clinically autonomous outgrowth from the old hospital complex. It was emphasized that this rapid decrease in population could be attributed only partially to increased bed capacity (the Yorkton Psychiatric Centre), and that the overall reorganization of a comprehensive community psychiatric service was possible without increase in staff, budget, or new facilities. It is also evident from the Weyburn experience that there is undue pessimism concerning the rate of change feasible in the obsolete, remote, mental hospitals.