Hospitalisation of the insane in Malta : 1850-1880

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to give a clear picture of the hospitalisation of the mentally ill in Malta from the year 1850 to 1880. It gives an account of the building of the institutions in which these patients were cared for; the administration of the establishment, as well as the ward attendants who worked there; the treatment offered; and the established procedures of admission and discharge in this institution. One work readily available on the subject was that by historian Paul Cassar, which provided a basic knowledge on the history of this institution up to the end of First World War. At the National Archives in Rabat, the main source used was the correspondence which took place between the Comptroller of Charitable Institutions and the Chief Secretary to the Government, which helped me to understand the requests made by the Comptroller with regards to the requirements of the lunatic asylum. Unfortunately, the correspondence which took place between the Medical Officers at the lunatic asylum and the Comptroller were not available. Another correspondence was the register of reference, which referred to letters found in CSG 01. The register itself provided detailed information, sometimes making it unnecessary to look up CSG 01, as frequently the same letters found in the register were also found in the letters from the Comptroller to the CSG. However, there were some missing volumes of this register and therefore, sometimes, I could only rely on the documented letters from the Comptroller to the CSG. I have also made vast use of the Malta Blue Books. Nevertheless, the majority of the statistical sources of this thesis came from the Medical Case Books found at the Psychiatric Museum, Mount Carmel Hospital, from which I derived the data on cases of patients admitted at the lunatic asylum from 1850 to 1880. Finally, I also used certain GMR sources and the Malta Government Gazette for some other helpful information and statistics. All these sources, on which my thesis is based, helped me comprehend the steps taken to provide the best possible service for mentally ill patients, and how this altered throughout the years.