VPRS 18299 Admission Register of Patients

This series comprises volumes detailing male and female patient admissions to the Ararat Hospital for the Insane (1925 - 1934), Ararat Mental Hospital (1934 - 1958), Aradale Mental Hospital (1958 - 1980)The volumes include:- admission number- patient name- admission date- marital status- date or birth / age- section admitted under- religion- previous place of abode- remarks which sometimes include date of removal, discharge or deathFrom at least 1845 and the proclamation of An Act for the Regulation of the Care and Treatment of Lunatics (8 & 9 Vic c.100), public asylums and licensed houses were required to maintain a Register of Patients. Initially the register maintained by licensed houses was officially known as the Book of Admissions. In some institutions the Register was also known as an Admissions Register or as an Admission and Discharge Register and these terms were sometimes stamped on the volumes.Immediately upon the admission of a person to an asylum, the clerk of the asylum was required to make an entry in the Register of Patients. Details recorded included: patient's name; date of admission; admission number; date of last previous admission; age; marital status; occupation; previous place of abode; religion and the form of mental disorder and state of physical health. Further details were entered in the register on the death, transfer or discharge of a patient. Institutions were also required to maintain a separate Register of Discharges, Removals and Deaths, usually known as a Discharge Register.The format of the Register of Patients which was specified in a schedule to the Lunacy Statute and succeeding legislation, changed little until the proclamation of the Mental Health Act 1959 in 1962. The record then became officially known as the Register of Patients and Discharge Register and included information about the types of admission. The following five types of admission were specified under sections 41 to 49 of the Mental Health Act 1959:Voluntary Boarders (V) were those who entered the hospital at their own request or, if under the age of 16 at the request of a parent or guardian and on the opinion of a medical practitioner.Recommended (R) and Approved (A) Patients. A person could be admitted upon the recommendation set out in a prescribed form, of a medical practitioner who had examined the person. As soon as possible after admission the superintendent of the hospital was required to examine the patient and either approve the recommended admission or discharge the patient.Judicial Admissions (J). Upon information provided on oath before a justice that a mentally ill person was not receiving proper care, or could not support himself/herself or had committed an offence and after examination by two medical practitioners, an order could be made for the person to be admitted to or detained in a mental hospital.Security Patients (S) were those who had been detained in a gaol but were transferred to a mental hospital upon being determined to be mentally ill.The Register of Patients and Discharge Register officially superseded the separate Discharge Register, however some institutions continued to maintain a separate record of patient discharges, transfers and deaths.本系列丛书涵盖多卷档案，记录了1925年至1934年亚拉拉特精神病院（Ararat Hospital for the Insane）、1934年至1958年亚拉拉特精神卫生医院（Ararat Mental Hospital）以及1958年至1980年阿拉代尔精神卫生医院（Aradale Mental Hospital）的男女患者入院记录。 各卷档案包含以下信息：入院编号、患者姓名、入院日期、婚姻状况、出生日期/年龄、入院依据法条、宗教信仰、既往居住地、备注栏（备注栏有时会记录患者转院、出院或死亡日期）。 早在1845年，随着《精神病人护理与治疗监管法案》（8 & 9 Vic c.100）颁布，公立精神病院及持牌疗养机构均需维护患者登记册。早期持牌机构的登记册官方名称为《入院登记簿》，部分机构也将其称为患者入院登记册或入院与出院登记册，此类标识有时会加盖于档案卷册之上。 患者入院时，精神病院文员需即刻在患者登记册中完成登记。登记内容包括：患者姓名、入院日期、入院编号、末次既往入院日期、年龄、婚姻状况、职业、既往居住地、宗教信仰、精神障碍类型及身体健康状况。患者死亡、转院或出院时，需在登记册中补充对应细节。各机构还需另行维护《出院、转院与死亡登记册》，通常简称出院登记册。 1962年《1959年精神卫生法案》颁布前，《精神错乱法》及后续立法附件中规定的患者登记册格式几乎未作调整。此后该登记册正式更名为《患者与出院登记册》，并新增入院类型相关信息。根据1959年《精神卫生法案》第41至49条，共规定了以下五类入院情形： 1. 自愿住院者（Voluntary Boarders，缩写V）：指自行申请入院的患者，或16岁以下经父母/监护人申请，并经执业医师评估同意的患者。 2. 推荐入院（Recommended，缩写R）与核准入院（Approved，缩写A）患者：患者可凭经执业医师检查后签署的规定格式推荐文书申请入院。患者入院后，医院主管需尽快完成检查，核准其入院申请或予以出院。 3. 司法强制入院（Judicial Admissions，缩写J）：若经治安法官根据宣誓证词证实，某精神疾病患者未获得适当照料、无法自理或已实施犯罪行为，且经两名执业医师检查后，可下达命令将该患者收治或扣留于精神病院。 4. 安保收容患者（Security Patients，缩写S）：指原本被关押于监狱，后经确诊患有精神疾病而转至精神病院的患者。 《患者与出院登记册》正式取代了独立的出院登记册，但部分机构仍会另行维护患者出院、转院及死亡的单独记录。