VPRS 7718 Admission Warrants: Male and Female Patients

Admission Warrants consisted of the official document and accompanying medical certificates which authorized a person's committal to an asylum as a lunatic patient. People could be admitted to an asylum as a lunatic patient by a number of means, as follows:Any friend, relative or acquaintance could request a person's admission as a lunatic. The form of the request was initially established in the tenth schedule of the Lunacy Statute 1867. The order was to be accompanied by medical certificates written by two medical practitioners. The Mental Health Act 1959 classified such patients as: 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.Any (lunatic) person found wandering at large or not under proper care and control could be brought before two justices who could order the person's removal to an asylum. The police were usually responsible for bringing the person before the two justices. In these cases a police report will usually be found with the Order written by the two Justices, together with two medical certificates and a statement outlining the personal and medical details of the supposed lunatic. The Mental Health Act 1959 classified this type of patient as a Judicial Admission (J).Any prisoner of the Crown thought to be a lunatic could be removed from a gaol to an asylum by order of the Chief Secretary. Such persons were subsequently classified as security patients (S).Voluntary Boarders (V) were those who requested that they be admitted for a mutually agreed period of time (from 1915 onwards)Any Ward of the State thought to be a lunatic or mentally defective could be sent to an asylum by order of the Chief Secretary.The above types of admission had to be approved and certified within three days of a patient's reception at an asylum. Further details regarding these categories of admission are specified in the Lunacy Statute 1915 and the Mental Health Act 1959.Responsibility for the admission procedure has changed several times since 1867. The Lunacy Statute 1867 designated the Chief Secretary as the responsible authority. From 1893 to 1934 the Inspector General of the Insane supervised the admission procedure after which time responsibility was transferred to the Director of Mental Hygiene. In 1950 the authorised Medical Officer of the Mental Hygiene Authority was responsible for the admissions procedure. Subsequently, the Authorised Medical Officer of the Mental Health Authority (est 1962), the Mental Health Division of the Health Department (est 1978) and from 1985 the Office of Psychiatric Services have overseen the admissions procedure.The format of the admission papers has varied over time. In most cases the papers provide details of: the person's name; age; previous place of abode; occupation; and, in the case of "recommended" patients, details of the person requesting their admission. One or more reports written by medical practitioners are also usually attached. In many cases, papers recording the death, discharge or transfer of the patient or the release of the patient on trial leave are attached to the admission papers.

收容入院令（Admission Warrants）指用于批准将某人作为精神病患者收治至精神病院的官方文件及随附医学证明。患者可通过多种途径被收治为精神病院的精神病患者，具体如下：任何朋友、亲属或熟人可申请将某人作为精神病患者入院。该申请格式最初由1867年《精神错乱法案》（Lunacy Statute 1867）的附表十规定，此类命令需附带两名执业医师出具的医学证明。1959年《精神健康法案》（Mental Health Act 1959）将此类患者划分为推荐收治（R）患者与核准收治（A）患者：患者可凭经规定格式出具、由接诊医师签署的推荐意见入院。患者入院后，医院主管需尽快对其进行检查，要么核准该推荐收治申请，要么将患者出院。任何被发现流浪在外或未得到适当照料与监管的疑似精神病患者，可被带至两名治安法官面前，法官可下令将其移送至精神病院。警方通常负责将此类人员带至治安法官面前。此类案件的档案中通常会包含两名治安法官签署的命令、两份医学证明，以及一份说明疑似精神病患者个人与医疗详情的陈述。1959年《精神健康法案》将此类患者归类为司法收治（J）患者。任何被认定为精神病患者的王室囚犯，可经首席秘书下令从监狱移送至精神病院，此类患者后续被归类为安保收治（S）患者。自愿住院者（Voluntary Boarders，V）指自愿申请在双方约定的期限内入院的患者，该类别自1915年起设立。任何被认定为精神病或智力缺陷的州监护对象，可经首席秘书下令移送至精神病院。上述各类收治方式均需在患者抵达精神病院后的三日内完成核准与认证。关于此类收治类别的更多详情，可参见1915年《精神错乱法案》（Lunacy Statute 1915）与1959年《精神健康法案》。自1867年以来，收治流程的负责机构历经多次变更：1867年《精神错乱法案》将首席秘书指定为负责机构；1893年至1934年，精神错乱监察总监（Inspector General of the Insane）负责监督收治流程，此后职责转至精神卫生主管（Director of Mental Hygiene）；1950年，精神卫生管理局的授权医疗官负责收治流程；后续，精神健康管理局（成立于1962年）的授权医疗官、卫生部精神健康司（成立于1978年），以及自1985年起的精神卫生服务办公室均负责监督收治流程。入院文件的格式随时间有所变化。多数情况下，文件会包含以下信息：患者姓名、年龄、既往居住地、职业；对于“推荐收治”患者，还会包含申请其入院的人员详情。通常还会附带一份或多份执业医师出具的报告。在诸多案例中，记录患者死亡、出院、转院或保释出院的文件也会附在入院文件中。