NRS-21500 | Patient index cards - Fire files [Morisset Hospital]

Full description

These are Patient index cards relating to files that were destroyed in a fire at Morisset Hospital in the mid 1960s. They relate to patients admitted to Morisset Hospital for the Insane, later known as Morisset Mental Hospital and Morisset Hospital, prior to 1966. There are no patient medical records connected to this series.

The amount of information recorded on the cards varies depending on period and card type. Early cards, up until the 1920s, routinely record name, register number, date admitted, religion and details of friends, and sometimes bore additional annotations (e.g. age, social condition, discharge, transfer). From the late 1920s, the cards provide additional fields to record: date of birth, social condition (married, single etc.), number of children, occupation, nationality, address, mode of admission (voluntary or certified), date of discharge or death, special information for reports (e.g. details of leave), and date of discharge or death. From 1965, cards were printed by a mimeographic (Roneo) process and, in addition to the above, record: pension status, previous outpatient psychiatric treatment, number of previous admissions, referred by, source of referral, ward, medical officer, type of admission (first or previous), classification of patient (including re-classifications), and disposal (e.g. order expired, hospital transferred to).

The cards are arranged alphabetically by name in separate male and female sequences.