Mental health facilities-Patient recordsThis Archives in Brief provides abrief overview of the majorsources held by State Recordsthat relate to patients of mentalhealth facilities and how toobtain access to them.

Other records may be identifiedin Archives I nvestigator.

For records relating to inmatesof infirm and destitute asylums,see Archives in Brief Nos. 86and 87.

Mental health careterminologyPast terminologyYou will notice terms such as'asylum','lunatic','lunaticasylum' and'mental hospital'are used in both the records andin our finding aids.

These are terms that were usedwhen the records are created.

Mental health care

Mental health care involvesassessing persons believed tobe mentally ill and providingthem with appropriatetreatment in hospitals,community housing or whileremaining members of thecommunity.

Care for the infirm anddestituteThe NSW Government has alsomanaged the care of the poorand infirm, who were notmentally ill.

Asylums, hospitals and homeswere built to house and care forthem.

For records of people cared forin these institutions and how to

access to them please seeArchives in Brief No. 86.

Brief History of theadministration ofmental health careIn 1811 the NSW governmentestablished what was known asa'lunatic asylum' in Castle Hillfor the care and treatment ofthe mentally ill.

The facility moved to Liverpoolin 1825.

The first purpose built institutionfor the mentally ill was openedat Tarban Creek (Gladesville) in1838.

After 1838 and until 1876 thegovernment managed severalmental health careestablishments in anunregulated manner.

In 1876 an Inspector of MentalHospitals was appointed tocoordinate and regulate theconduct of the hospitals.

A Master In Lunacy wasappointed in 1879 as an officerof the Supreme Court todetermine whether personswere mentally ill and to makearrangements for the care ofthe mentally ill and their affairs.

From 1811 up to the latter paftof the 20th century, institutionalcare in specialised hospitals wasthe primary means of servicedelivery.

From the 1970s onwards, thisprogressively gave way to afocus on community-based care,and greater use of psychiatricunits in general hospitals.

B5ISSN 1440-8260

September 2OO7

Mental health facilitiesState Records holds records ofpatients of the following Statemanaged mental healthfacilities. They are listed belowwith their Archives Investigatoragency number.

Note that many records ofmental health facilities areincomplete.

r.\SW Deparlmenl of

L-ilnifil#|"{C r. i'; i" ,.' i:.

AgencyNo.

Agency name

70&1858

Broughton HallPsychiatric Clinic

1857 Broughton HallPsychiatric Clinic(No.13 AuxiliaryMilitary Hospital)

69&1836

Callan Park MentalHospital

1859 Temporary Hospitalfor the Insane,Cooma

64 Reception House,Da rling hu rst

65 Gladesville MentalHospital (formerlyTarban Creek LunaticAsylum)

1915 Kenmore MentalHospital

63 Lunatic Asylum,Liverpool

66 Newcastle PsychiatricHospital

1906 Newcastle PsychiatricHospital ReceptionHouse

Mental health facilities - Datient records

AgencyNo.

Agency name

62 ParramattaPsychiatric Centre

1907 Rydalmere PsychiatricCentre, and

68 Bay View HouseTempe

Using ArchivesInvestigator to findlists of records heldRecords of individualfacilities

For further information aboutour holdings you can consultArchives Investigator using theAdvanced Search option.

Select 'Agency'and enter thenumber of the facility (e9: 65for Tarban Creek/GladesvilleHospital).

Another way of searching forrecords of mental healthfacilities is to select theAdvanced Search option andsearch for the Function 'Health'.

The information providedincludes a list of agenciesexercising that function.

Records of the InspectorGeneral of Mental Hospitals

As well as records of individualfacilties, we also hold records ofthe Inspector General of MentalHospitals.

These can be located in ArchivesInvestigator using the AdvancedSearch option.

Select Agency and enter theagency number'60'.

Typical records ofmental health facilitiesControl recordsIndexes

Indexes are arrangedalphabetically by the name ofthe patient.

Records that have been indexedinclude registers of patients,admission books and medicalcase books.

Registers of patients andadmission books

These volumes are arrangedchronologically and generallygive the following details: dateof last previous admission (ifany); number on register;number for the year; date ofadmission; name; sex; age;social condition; number ofchildren; occupation; nativity;residence; religion; form ofmental disorder; supposedcauses of insanity; insanerelations; previous attacks;duration of existing attack; ageat first attack; date ofdischarge; if recovered,relieved, not improved or died;time in hospital; observations;bodily disorders; suicidaltendencies, etc.

Registers of dischargesremovals and deaths

These volumes are arrangedchronologically by date of death,discharge or removal ofpatients.

Details given include: date oflast admission; number inRegister of patients; name infull; if recovered, relieved, notimproved or died; assignedcause of death; age at death;and observations (eg.transferred to another hospitaletc.).

Case papers / medicalcase books / admissionfilesAdmission files

These papers give details ofpatient's name, occupation,place of abode, date ofadmission, age, marital status,native place, religiouspersuasion and a brief outline ofcase history up to the time ofadmission - previousadmissions, insane relations,doctors' and relatives'observations on the patient'sbehaviour.

Some files also includecorrespondence, eg. lettersfrom other institutions notingtransfer and letters to thehospital from relatives

concerning belongings, visiting,etc.

Case papers

These files provide a record of apatient's treatment.

They contain such informationas admission and dischargedetails; a medical summary;progress notes; behaviour andtreatment records; test results,personal effects lists andcorrespondence.

Medical case books

Entries in these volumes arearranged chronologically by dateof admission.

The patient's physical andmental condition before, and atthe time of admission, isdescribed and the final entry foreach case notes whether thepatient was discharged,transferred to another hospitalor died.

Other details given include: age,weight, social condition, numberof children, occupation, nativity,residence, religion, form ofmental disorder, supposedcause, duration of attack,previous attacks, date of lastadmission (if any), treatmentand summary of medicalcertificate.

Notes are then made atirregular intervals on a patient'sbehaviour and condition whilehe remains in the hospital.

Related recordsColonial Secretary's papens

There are no suriving registersof patients for Castle Hill LunaticAsylum (181 1-1825), howeverthere are numerous referencesto patients being admitted tothe asylum in the Index toColonial Secretary's Papers,1788-1825, available on theState Records website.

There are references in theColonial Secretary'scorrespondence to patientsbeing admitted to mental healthfacilities during the 19th century,after 1825.

State Records

Mental health facilities - patient records

Documents include warrants ofadmission.

The Colonial Secretary'scorrespondence can be accessedusing the indexes and registersand Joan Reese's Index toConvicts and Others.

For further information aboutthe Colonial Secretary'scorrespondence see Archives inErief Nos. 64, 65 and 104.

Records held elsewhereA number of State managedmental health facilities have nottransferred all their records toState Records.

These facilities includeBloomfield Hospital at Orange,Stockton Hospital at Newcastleand Kenmore Hospital nearGoulburn.

To obtain access to records ofpatients of these facilities youmust contact the facility.

Access to recordsRecords are closed topublic access for 110yearsRecords over 110 years of ageare open to public access. Youcan access the records at ourWestern Sydney Reading Room.

Patient identifying healthrecords less than 110 years ofage are closed to public access.

NSW Health has made anaccess direction that closes allpatient identifying healthrecords including those of NewSouth Wales State run mentalhealth facilities.

For further information aboutaccess directions consult theRegister of Access Directions,available on the State Recordswebsite.

For further information aboutyour rights of access, seeArchives in Brief No. 9: Yourrights of access.

How to obtain access toclosed recordsTo obtain access to recordscreated less than 110 years ago

you will need to follow the stepsbelow:

1. Obtain permission fromthe NSW HealthDepartment

To obtain permission to accesspatient records held as Statearchives you will need tocontact the NSW HealthDepartment.

Information about how to applyfor access and copies of theforms to complete are online athttp://www. hea lth. nsw.gov.au/psychaccess/.

You can also contact theDepartment at:

NSW Health DepartmentLocked Mail Bag 961NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059Attention : Manager, CorporateRecords Services

Phone (02) 9391 9076

If your application is successfulNSW Health Department willnotify you in writing.

2, Contact us five workingdays before your visit

Because many of the records,such as indexes and registers,show a number of individuals onone page our reading room staffneed to check the records onyour behalf to confirm therecords exist.

To avoid delays during your visitto the reading room you shouldcontact us five working days inadvance and provide thefollowing information :

. name of patient

. name of facility

. dates of admission

. dates discharge/deathWe will advise you if the recordscheck is unsuccessful.

3. Visit the reading roomTo access the records you willneed to:

r visit the reading roomwhere the records areheld. The bulk of therecords are held at theWestern Sydney RecordsCentre.

. bring your letter ofpermission from NSWHealth, and

. ensure the person who isnamed in the letter toaccess the records is theperson visiting thereading room.

You will only be given access tothe records of the individualnamed in the letter ofpermission. In most instancesyou will be able to obtain copiesof this material.

Information aboutvisiting the readingroomFor more information aboutreading room rules andprocedures, and reader'stickets, see Archives in Brief No.13. For reading room openinghours and addresses, seeArchives in Brief No. 8.

Reading room locations

Western Sydney RecordsCentre143 O'Connell StreetKingswood NSW 2747

Sydney Records Centre2 Globe StreetThe Rocks, Sydney NSW2000

State Records