Editorial Comment

By now the decisions concerning The Standard have been taken, regrettably, without the benefit of knowing what you want. A resume of Wednesday's meeting will appear next week.

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Social Therapy Review

The other day, whilst escorting a group of patients from Male 8 Middle to the Gym, I overheard two nurses remark on what a waste of time it was to be exercising middle-aged, long-stay patients. I thought it was about time to put the record straight, and also follow with a progress report on the morning session in the Social Therapy Department.

The female wards involved are F.2 Up, F. 2 D, F.4 Up and M.2 Up; male wards, M.5 Up, F.5 Up and male 8 Middle. When we started six months ago we received approximately twenty patients per ward. We reduced the numbers by half and grouped the patients into three main classes - high, middle and low. We then endeavoured to find out what these patients are capable of, what hidden talents some of then might have, starting from the very simple task of washing their hands after using the toilet to the more complicated task of handling money.

We have found that quite a lot of patients can read, write, sew and also play a wide range of games - such as dominoes, darts, cards, chess and draughts.

By taking the patients in smaller numbers, with everyone treating them equally, not as children but as adults, much can be achieved.

When a patient first comes to the gym he, or she, is placed in a low group where the most simple tasks are done, hygiene, etc. Then they progress to the middle group, where more difficult tasks are attempted - learning to play games and dancing etc. Then finally to the high group, where they are taught to handle money, and taken outside into the community to see shows and do shopping etc. These patients may thereby be enabled to do a more useful job inside the hospital, or even outside.

This process may take years but if during this time the patients lead a more normal and happier life, then it has been worthwhile.

W, Crook

The first meeting of the Fishing Club was held on Monday 25th September in the Social Therapy Department. Those members present elected the officials of the club, who are:

Hon. President	Mr. Wright
Chairman	Roy Mather
Vice-Chairman	Elvin Cannall
Treasurer	Mr. Jolley
Secretary	Jack Hudson
Committee Members	Stan Jones, John Mercer, Philip Cornes and Albert Esham

Topics for discussion at this meeting were, proposed fishing trips and the hiring of films to be shown on club nights. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in the Social Therapy office on Monday 9th October, at 6.30 p.m. where new members will be welcome.

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Club News

Warrington Snooker and Billiards

Fixtures

Billiards - Tuesday October 10th 1972
Winwick Hospital v. St. Mary's A 7.30 start

Snooker - Thursday October 12th 1972
Winwick B. v. Thames Board Mills
Greenalls v. Winwick A 7.00 start

P. Hastry

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We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the H.M.C., and Miss Coppack, for the commencement of the refresher course for Deputies during the four week introductory period for Pupil Nurses, which we both found very beneficial.

This course gives a good insight into the training and capabilities of the Pupil Nurse prior to commencement on the ward.

Our thanks and appreciation go also to the Tutorial Staff for the very kind welcome, acceptance, enlightenment and help given to us during this period.

It was a very relaxed and refreshing feeling to go back into the teaching department without the usual pressure we all recall when we think of school, with its many lectures, note-taking and tests etc., and we hope other Deputies in the future enjoy this experience as much as we have.

I.. Bamford
T. Pilling

VISIT FOR WHITTINGHAM

The Secretary of State for Social Services, Sir Keith Joseph, visited Whittingham Hospital on Monday, September 25th, and spent three hours inspecting the wards. Among the areas visited was the ward which was revealed as a major trouble spot in last year's Ministerial inquiry. The ward - ward 16 - is scheduled for upgrading in an £80,000 scheme which will start in November.

Sir Keith spoke of the improvements which are being carried out at the hospital, and said that although he still believed that Whittingham would be run down and closed in the next twenty years, this would be a gradual process, and some of the staff would work from time to time in the new type of psychiatric hospital.

Publications Committee

Drug Adviser Needed?

Sir George Godber, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, spoke last week of the increasing incidence of adverse effects of drugs. Speaking at a meeting held at the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering, he said that drug literature was far too voluminous for the average clinician to be able to make a balanced appraisal of it. He saw a need for a new kind of "interpreter" - a clinical pharmacologist or physician expert in therapeutics - who would advise doctors on the best use of drugs, new and old.

"Shortage of Hospital Beds" Claim

Warrington's Health Executive Council heard a report on a meeting of a council deputation and the Warrington Group Hospital Management Committee, when they met last Friday.

The deputation had met with the Management Committee to discuss waiting time and the appointment system at the orthopaedic and casualty departments at Warrington Infirmary, following complaints from patients about excessive delays. They had been shown plans of the alterations at the hospital, which were scheduled to be completed by about March of next year. However, they were unable to discuss staffing levels as these were subject to the decision of the Regional Board.

The Regional Board came in for strong criticism when the meeting was told that Warrington has only fifty hospital beds for every 1,000 population - almost a third below the number available in Liverpool and twenty per thousand fewer than the national average.

After discussion, it appeared that the H.M.C. were doing all they could to prevent delays, but the fault lay with the Regional Board for the lack of finances for increases in the staffing of the departments. The council agreed to bring all points raised at the meeting to the attention of the Board, and seek their comments. They also decided to send a letter to the Department of Health, to protest about the fact that Warrington has no representative on the Regional Board.

Publications Committee.

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The Rehabilitation aspect of a mental hospital is often, and rightly, stressed.........

At a Symposium on Medicine in the 70's held recently in London, a strong plea was made for increased attention to the asylum (place of refuge) aspect of mental hospitals. It is one thing to bring a patient to the point where he is fit to leave hospital, and quite another to bring him to the point where he can be kept out of hospital. Some people cannot be enabled to cope on their own in our competitive society. 'Society must learn to organise such people so that they can be given asylum, decently, considerately, and in a humane manner.'

Publications Committee

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The Myth of Mental Illness

Exercising the privilege of rank (the Publications Committee have rank?) we would like to comment on the T.V. programme, Controversy, shown last Monday evening. 'Before your very eyes' it was shown that the Psychiatric Establishment had no answer to Professor Thomas Szasz's case that psychiatric treatment is indefinable unless on the basis of a contract voluntarily entered into by a person asking for it with another person offering it. It doesn't take long to work out the enormous implications of this case, and no one can be blamed for deciding that Professor Szasz is being 'unreasonable'. However, the case was made and the implications should have been discussed,

Publications Committee

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Work Study - Part 6

Productivity and the Standard of Living

The standard of living of any man is the extent to which he is able to provide himself and his family with the things that are necessary for sustaining and enjoying life.

He should have enough food every day to replace the energy used in living and working, enough clothes to permit bodily cleanliness and afford protection from the weather, housing of a standard to give protection under healthy conditions, and sanitation and medical care to give protection against disease and treatment in illness.

He also requires security against robbery or violence, against loss of the opportunity to work, against poverty due to illness or old age, and education to enable every man, woman and child to develop to the full their talents and abilities.

Food, clothing and housing are generally things which a man has to provide for himself. In order to have them he must pay for them, either in money or work. Hygiene, security, and education are generally matters for governments and other public authorities. The services of public authorities have to be paid for, generally by individual citizens, so each man must earn enough to pay his contribution to the common services as well as to support himself and his family.

Each nation or community must, in the long run, be self supporting. The standard of living achieved will be that which the representative citizen is able to achieve through his own efforts and those of all his fellow citizens; the greater the amount of goods and services produced in any community, the higher the average standard of living will be.

There are two main ways of increasing the amount of goods and services produced, one is to increase production, the other is to increase productivity. Production can almost always be greatly increased by heavy investment of money in new and improved plant and equipment or. by increasing the labour force, but it is the latter task of increasing productivity that we are here concerned.

We can have more and cheaper food by increasing the productivity of agriculture, more and cheaper clothing and housing by increasing the productivity of industry and more hygiene, security and education by increasing all productivity and earning power, leaving more from which to pay for them.

J. Shaw.

Winwick Hospital Staff Recreation Club

A Christmas Party for club members' children between the ages of 3 & 6 will be held on Saturday, 16th December at 3.00 p.m.
Closing date for applications for tickets - 31st November, 1972.

Christmas Pantomime - Club members' children between the ages of 7 & 13 are to go to pantomime, on a date to be fixed in the New Year. Closing date for applications 31st November, 1972

No applications will be considered after this date.

L. Jones
Hon. Sec.

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Welcome to:

	T.N.A. P. Moore	N D.
	T.N.A. C.A. O'Dowd	N.D.
	Cadet J.A. Adair
	Miss L.C. Gosling,	Pharmacy
Farewell to:
	Mr. B. Platt	D.C.N.

On Friday last the appointments committee offered to Mr. P. R. Ditchburn the post of Chief Nursing Officer to the Warrington Hospital Group. It is not yet known when Mr. Ditchburn will take up duty but this will be notified later.

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