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A Halifax case study that offers an alternative history of care provided by local authorities under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act
- Author:
- DALE Pamela
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(2), 2014, pp.133-140.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Institutions, and their problems, have traditionally dominated learning disability histories. Far more is known about what happened in areas where councils established and/or enthusiastically used local institutions than other places. Local authorities less committed to institutional care must have relied more on family and other carers. This may have signalled a more positive, even inclusive, approach to caring for people with learning disabilities. The Halifax case study provides some evidence to support this conclusion, but limited provision and reliance on distant facilities also permitted the neglect, and even abuse, of individuals in ways that resonate with recent scandals in the care sector. Note: for accuracy, this study uses the historically correct terminology with sincere apologies for any distress this may inadvertently cause. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mental illness and learning disability since 1850: finding a place for mental disorder in the United Kingdom
- Editors:
- DALE Pamela, MELLING Joseph, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 234p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
This collection of essays provides an assessment of the policies and practices devised to accommodate and manage a wide range of people with disabilities as well as mental illness. The last thirty years have seen many of the Victorian and Edwardian asylums and residential homes closed as alternatives to institutional care have been developed. It is suggested that the abandonment of these institutions and the limits of care in the community have led to public concern about the consequences of some of the policies that have been pursued regarding the care of those with mental disorders. The responsibility of families, neighbourhoods and wider society to care for their members has been the subject of debate in both historical and contemporary contexts. The authors emphasise the complexity of institutional systems: the workhouses, asylums, mental hospitals and hostels, illustrating the influence of medical and legal personnel as well as family members in the care offered to those identified as needing protection. Class relationships, gender and regional variations are revealed as factors which influenced the kind of psychiatric care provided.