High Ideals Versus Harsh Realities: a Historical Analysis of Mental Health Nursing in Dutch Asylums, 1890-1920

This article examines mental health nursing in Dutch asylums during the period 1890-1920. The rise of new medical ideas about the mentally ill & new treatments for these patients is discussed. Suicidal & delusional patients were often at risk of self-mutilation, food refusal, violence, & escape. Completed suicide in the asylum was a threat to an institution’s reputation & was perceived as a failure of management. In most cases, an investigation followed, & nurses were held responsible if a suicide occurred. Occasionally nurses were dismissed if the suicide could be related to neglect or lack of supervision. (79 notes)