A Surprising Set of Rules

This week I would like to share these wonderful "Rules for Attendants, Nurses and Servants of the Perth District Asylum", published in 1911.

Excerpts include:

"Attendants must always bear in mind that they are given the charge of persons who are not able to take care of themselves, and whose unfortunate condition calls for kindliness and sympathy. They must, therefore, act in a kind and conciliatory manner towards the Patients, and in neatness, and all propriety of language and conduct, present to them an example of correct behaviour."

"Attendants must encourage their Patients to engage in occupations and recreations, but without favouritism, and they themselves required to join heartily in both."

"They must treat the Patients with uniform gentleness and try to aid in their cure or increase their happiness by cheering the depressed, calming the unruly, and separating the quarrelsome, and may on no account impose any sort of punishment or privation on any Patient."

Reading these rules was particularly comforting to me as two of my ancestors were admitted to Perth District asylum in the 1910s. I also showed them to some of my colleagues in the community mental health team, resulting in a very interesting time of reflection about our stereotypical views of the pre-NHS asylums and what we might be able to learn from real descriptions of the practices and culture there.