[Omah]

Originally Posted by kizzy

It also signalled the birth of 'care' in the community.

The origins of community care

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/229517.stm

The main push towards community care as we know it today came in the 1950s and 1960s, an era which saw a sea change in attitude towards the treatment of the mentally ill and a rise in the patients' rights movement, tied to civil rights campaigns.

The 1959 Mental Health Act abolished the distinction between psychiatric and other hospitals and encouraged the development of community care.

The 1960s

Through the 1960s, the tide continued to move against the big hospital institutions.

The introduction of a new wave of psychotropic drugs in the 1960s also meant patients could be more easily treated outside of an institution.

Another significant development was the growth of patients' and civil rights movements and the increase in charities which championed them.

In addition, right-wing civil libertarians like former health minister Enoch Powell, dubbed by some the Father of Community Care, argued that mental hospitals were effectively prisons, preventing a return to normal life.

There was also a belief that community care would be cheaper than hospital care, although in recent years mental health campaigners have consistently argued that, if properly funded, it is more expensive.

During the 1970s, large-scale psychiatric hospitals were steadily discredited.

The new district general hospitals which provided some psychiatric services contributed to the reduction in the number of beds in mental hospitals from 150,000 in the mid-1950s to 80,000 by 1975.

The 1980s

The 1980s saw the introduction of legislation which would give the mentally ill more rights.

The Mental Health Act 1983, currently under review, set out the rights of people admitted to mental hospitals, allowing them to appeal against committal.

However, by the 1980s concerns were being expressed about care in the community following a series of killings by people with mental health problems.

The 1984 murder of social worker Isabel Schwarz by a former client prompted a government inquiry into community care, led by Sir Roy Griffiths.

His 1988 report, 'Community Care: Agenda for Action' was the forerunner to the Community Care Act of 1990, major legislation which sets out the basis for community care as we know it today.

Blimey, Enoch Powell .....