scholarly journals Who Wears the Chains Now

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 139-141
Author(s):  
Chris Thomas

In 1793 Pinel started the move towards modern psychiatry by removing the chains from patients at the Bicetre Psychiatric Asylum. In 1986 the Mental Health Commission through their draft Code of Practice (COP) are metaphorically attempting to place those chains upon the professionals whose job it is to treat psychiatric disorder. Psychiatry will not benefit by having either the patients or the carers chained. I feel that if the COP in its current form is accepted, then it is likely in the long-term to lead to a deterioration of services for the mentally ill and we should ensure through the Royal College that we are not forced into accepting proposals from people who are in a worse position than ourselves to determine what is best for our patients.

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
G. Cardoso ◽  
C. Coelho ◽  
J. Caldas de Almeida

The DEMoBinc study's main objective is to develop an instrument for assessing the living conditions, the quality of care, and the human rights of long-term mentally ill patients in psychiatric and social residential care. It started on March 2007, with 11 centres and 10 countries participating.The Portuguese centre has carried out a national literature review of mental health legislation, standards of care related with residential care for mental patients, and mandatory procedures for physical restraint and seclusion.A three-round Delphi exercise with four groups of experts - advocates, mental health professionals, service users, and carers - was also developed. In the first round the participants were asked to state the ten more important components of care helping recovery in institutional care for the long-term mentally ill. The results were sent back to be rated for their importance on a 5-point scale. Finally, the participants were asked to confirm or change their own scores in comparison with the calculated group median. Between twelve and 18 participants by group were contacted, and the overall rate of participation was 73%.A pilot study using the first draft of the DEMoBinc instrument was done, and refinement of the instrument is being carried out in twenty institutions and will be completed during the next months.The results of the Portuguese centre on the national literature review, the Delphi exercise, and the first phase refinement of the DEMoBinc instrument will be presented and discussed.


1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 220-222
Author(s):  
Lord Colville

Professor Bluglass has recently written in the Bulletin on this subject. Articles have also appeared in the British Medical Journal by Dr Hamilton and Professor Kendell. Comments were invited on both documents: to the DHSS on the Code and to MHAC on their paper. To judge by the articles referred to, clarification of the background to and function of both documents is urgently needed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Jon Spear ◽  
Andrew Cole ◽  
Jan Scott

Community mental health services have been criticised for seeing those with minor psychiatric disorders at the expense of those with severe and long-term illness. We report a cross-sectional evaluation of a UK service based entirely within the community. Most patients in contact with the service (66%) had a psychotic disorder or an affective disorder. Patients with greater impairment were likely to receive more intensive treatment. Only 20% of the community psychiatric nurse (CPN) case load focused on acute distress and neurotic disorders. Within this service careful operational planning and maintaining CPNs within the secondary care system appear to be critical factors in achieving the goal of giving priority to the severely mentally ill.


1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-67

It was felt that Members of the College would be interested to see the comments of the British Medical Association and the Joint Co-ordinating Committee (The Medical Protection Society, The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland and the Medical Defence Union) on the Mental Health Act 1983 Draft Code of Practice. The comments of the College were published in the Bulletin, August 1986, 10, 194–195.


Rural History ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (02) ◽  
pp. 161-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Carter ◽  
Jeff James ◽  
Steve King

AbstractThis article focuses on the way that staff and guardians in the rural Nottinghamshire workhouse of Southwell sought to exert control and containment over pauper inmates. Fusing together local and central records for the period 1834–71, including locally held punishment books and correspondence at The National Archives, Kew (TNA), we argue that the notional power of the workhouse authorities was heavily shaded. Most paupers most of the time did not find their behaviour heavily and clumsily controlled. Rather, staff focused their attention in terms of detecting and punishing disorderly behaviour on a small group of long-term and often mentally ill paupers whose actions might create enmities or spiral into larger conflicts and dissent in the workhouse setting. Both inmates and those under threat of workhouse admission would have seen or heard about punishment of ‘the usual characters’. This has important implications for how we understand the intent and experience of the New Poor Law up to the formation of the Local Government Board (LGB) in 1871.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-83
Author(s):  
John Barnes ◽  
Greg Wilkinson

Much of the medical care of the long-term mentally ill falls to the general practitioner (Wilkinson et al, 1985) and, for example, a survey in Buckinghamshire showed that these patients consult their general practitioner (GP) twice as often as mental health services. Lodging house dwellers are known to show an increased prevalence of major mental illness and to suffer much secondary social handicap, presenting a challenge to helping services of all disciplines. For this reason we chose a lodging house in which to explore further the relationships between mental illness and residents' present contact with their GP, mental health services and other local sources of help.


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