VPRS 18097 Patient Case History Files: Deceased Patients (Royal Park Receiving House, Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital)

This series consists of files identified as relating to patients who died while resident in Royal Park or whose death was notified to Royal Park (VA 2845). Each patient admitted into a psychiatric hospital was required by legislation to have a file created which documented their case history from time of admission to discharge or death. In addition to the information commonly found in patient case history files (described below), most files in this series include documents that advise, notify or explain the death of the patient. File covers are notated to indicate death and date of death. While the majority of files in this series relate to patients who died, and whose death is recorded in the files, there are some in which no information about death is apparent. Further, while the majority of files relate to admissions to Royal Park, there are some that appear to relate to final admissions to hospitals other than Royal Park. Around 1954, case histories changed from being a simple folio with relatively few entries and attached papers to foolscap sized, manila folder files which contain various types of forms, correspondence and medical paperwork, depending on the legislative requirements at the time. File covers include the patient name and provision for recording dates of admission and discharge as well as file movement details if the patient had been admitted to other institutions, as it was required that the file move with the patient. Contents of the file were not consistent until the Mental Health Regulations 1962 made provision for colour coded sheets to be used within the files for specific purposes which include: Sheet 1 (brown or plain) - Face sheet providing personal details Sheet 2 (purple) - Referring letters Sheet 3 (red) - Superintendents Examination / Reports Sheet 4 (orange) - Special Examinations / Investigation Sheet 5 (yellow) - Physical Examination Sheet 6 (blue) - Psychiatric History Sheet 7 (black) - Psychiatric Examination Sheet 10 (green) - Social Worker's Report Sheet 16 (mauve) - Nursing Notes Sheet 20 (black) - Post Mortem Examination Some files include papers relating to admissions that pre-date the creation of this series, in cases where papers or files from earlier admissions have been added to, or attached to, the files in this series. Similarly, in some cases, content has been added after files have been closed to accommodate matters such as correspondence relating to freedom of information requests. Previous series : VPRS 18098 Patient Clinical Notes