VPRS 18920 Geriatric Unit Consultative Committee, Minutes

This series comprises minutes of the Geriatric Unit Consultative Committee of Mount Royal Hospital (VA 1280). The Committee was concerned with the initial construction of the Unit, equipment, staffing, services and programs as well as assessment, diagnostic investigational and specialised treatment for patients. The Committee also discussed the ongoing management, development, and results evaluation of the Unit’s specialist services. In the mid-1950s Mount Royal Hospital introduced services tailored for geriatric medicine including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. These services were established in order to encourage more independence for the elderly, enabling them to return to independent living at home rather than long-term hospital treatment and stays. In 1957, a new 76-bed, purpose-built rehabilitation, research and education unit was completed at the hospital. Named the Sir Herbert Olney Geriatric Unit, it was the first hospital unit in the southern hemisphere built specifically to provide geriatric rehabilitation.