title: New long-stay patients in a hospital for mental handicap.
abstract: Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped (1971) forecasts a diminution in the number of beds in hospitals for mental handicap. It can be achieved only by the admission of fewer new long-stay patients. This paper considers 50 new long-stay cases admitted to a hospital for mentally handicapped in the five years 1970 to 1974. Of these admissions 42% were children, and of all the admissions 54% had Wechsler intelligence quotients under 25. Further, 62% of the admissions were for behaviour problems and 38% were for physical infirmity and helplessness. It is concluded that there are some mentally handicapped people who have problems with which only a hospital can cope. The high nursing dependency and the profound mental retardation of a majority of the new long-stay patients present a formidable challenge.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000150:complications; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D007360:Intelligence; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012737:Sex Factors; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications