The provision of mental health services in England for people over 65 years of age, 1970—78

Hilton, Claire

doi:10.1177/0957154x07087761

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(46 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, new initiatives in old-age psychiatry tended to come from small groups of enthusiasts from a variety of backgrounds, such as those behind the DHSS's Services for Mental Illness Related to Old Age (1972) 25. Though the DHSS was concerned with providing adequate services for the elderly, this social work-oriented focus often meant that older mentally ill patients were overlooked by psychiatric services or ‘misplaced’ in hospitals as the physical and mental changes of ageing were conflated 26 27. Brice Pitt, writing in 1974, observed that the over 65s were disproportionately represented in psychiatric hospitals, with many long-term patients who had been there for several years.…”

Section: Uncovering a Twilight Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the shadow of the asylum: the Stanley Royd Salmonella outbreak of 1984

Wallis

2015

Med Humanities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In August 1984, an outbreak of Salmonella at Stanley Royd Psychiatric Hospital in Yorkshire led to the deaths of 19 elderly residents. It was an incident that attracted a good deal of comment in both the local and national press, and one that had enduring relevance for ideas about psychiatric care, food handling and catering provisions, hospital management and the official inspection of medical institutions. This article examines the impact that the 1984 outbreak had on official and popular perceptions of these issues. As well as bringing to public attention the fact that large numbers of vulnerable elderly patients were long-term residents in psychiatric hospitals, the Salmonella outbreak highlighted the inadequacies of Victorian hospital buildings in modern healthcare. Throughout the press reports and official investigations examined here, the provenance of Stanley Royd was repeatedly emphasised; its Victorian fabric persistently interfered with cleaning regimes, cold storage facilities and the conveyance of food to patients. Within institutions like Stanley Royd, 'new' and 'old' risks came together--the microscopic bacterium and the crumbling nineteenth-century building--to create a strong critique of existing psychiatric care. The episode also highlighted broader problems within the NHS, such as systems of management and the status of psychogeriatrics as a specialism.

show abstract

Section: Uncovering a Twilight Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the shadow of the asylum: the Stanley Royd Salmonella outbreak of 1984

Wallis

2015

Med Humanities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During the 1960s the government and regional health authorities consequently viewed epidemiological surveys and standard diagnostic tests as vital to calculating bed numbers, allocating staff and planning the needs of psychiatric patients in the community (Evans, 2013: 13–14; Hilton, 2008: 308). Although politicians generally ignored the psychiatric needs of elderly patients for much of the 1960s, pressure from figures such as Martin Roth and public concerns surrounding institutional care led the DHSS to produce a paper on Services for Mental Illness Related to Old Age in 1972.…”

Section: Constructing a ‘Natural History Of Mental Disorder In Old Agmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the quiet epidemic

Wilson

2014

History of the Human Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the late 20th century numerical rating scales became central to the diagnosis of dementia and helped transform attitudes about its causes and prevalence. Concentrating largely on the development and use of the Blessed Dementia Scale, I argue that rating scales served professional ends during the 1960s and 1970s. They helped old age psychiatrists establish jurisdiction over conditions such as dementia and present their field as a vital component of the welfare state, where they argued that ‘reliable modes of diagnosis’ were vital to the allocation of resources. I show how these arguments appealed to politicians, funding bodies and patient groups, who agreed that dementia was a distinct disease and claimed research on its causes and prevention should be designated ‘top priority’. But I also show that worries about the replacement of clinical acumen with technical and depersonalized methods, which could conceivably be applied by anyone, led psychiatrists to stress that rating scales had their limits and could be used only by trained experts.

show abstract

“…Hilton [32 ] shows how services for the elderly mentally ill were provided after the closure of the asylums in England 1970-78. By 1971, the asylums were almost half full with people older than 65 years of age.…”

Section: Psychiatric Profession and Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%