Admissions to Mental Observation Wards during War

Mental observation wards: an alternative provision for emergency psychiatric care in England in the first half of the twentieth century

In England in the early twentieth century, mental observation wards in workhouses developed as a parallel service to the asylums for emergency mental health admissions under the 1890 Lunacy Act, particularly in urban areas and especially London on account of local policy. The purpose of the wards was initial patient assessment and early discharge or certification, and there was controversy between their medical supporters and the Board of Control about any extension of their remit which might usurp the role of the mental hospitals. Their significance declined with changing policy in the NHS era, as more emergency admissions went to mental hospitals, and local treatment units emerged. This article explores the history of these services in the context of the changing legal and policy frameworks.

Psychiatric sequelae of the Belfast riots

The period of the study was from August 15th to the end of September, 1969. Severe rioting occurred in Belfast on the nights of 14th and 15th August, and during the next few weeks rioting, arson, looting and intimidation continued. Eight fatal casualties were recorded and a large number of people were injured, mainly from gunshot wounds.

A stressful social situation as a precipitant of schizophrenic symptoms: an epidemiological study

Modern hypotheses as to the aetiology of schizophrenia are likely to be multifactorial and to include psychosocial factors. A typical aetiological hypothesis might propose that an “identity” crisis precipitated psychotic symptoms in an individual who was predisposed to schizophrenia; the predisposition could be due both to inherited biological factors and to abnormal personality traits caused by a faulty family environment or other social factors. Hypotheses such as these lead to the expectation that schizophrenia would be precipitated by psychological stress. However, statistical studies which have attempted to relate the onset of schizophrenia to psychological stress have not produced evidence consistent with such an expectation. For example, hospital admissions for psychosis were not increased in England during the blitz (10, 12, 13). Nor was a grossly increased rate of psychosis found in populations of concentration camp survivors (9, 16). Also, it has been claimed that the rate of psychosis was not increased by combat exposure among U.S. soldiers in World War II, whereas the rate of neurosis was clearly affected by combat exposure (6). Consistent with this last point it has been stated that the rate of hospitalization for psychosis in U.S. military personnel has remained relatively constant over the last 40 years apparently independent of war or peace (7, 1), whereas the rate of hospitalization for nonspsychotic disorders has fluctuated widely (7).