Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-11
Mental Patients
|Neg|ectedfor
Prisoner Care
By MIRIAM GUTENBERG

ing a psychiatric team.
Commissioner Robert E. Nc
Laughlin said at the time-Oc-
tober 25, 1955-that he expected
the staff to be hired and the
ward to be in use within three
weeks.
No Experts Hired
But as of yesterday:
l. The psychiatric team Of psy-
chiatrist, psychologist and psy-
chiatric social worker to examine
the prisoners still has not been
hired.
2. No funds have been pro-
vided for this team and no funds
have yet been requested for next
year.
/ 3. One psychiatriSt currently is
responsible for diagnostic evalu-
alton of 100 patients, including
prisoners, dope addicts, alco-
holics and juveniles.
4. Prisoners who could be re-
turned to court in three weeks
are staying six because nobody
has time to diagnose them any
faster.
5. Relatives of patients and
patients themselves have COM
planned of the lack of attention,
and the court has raised ques-
lions on several occasions about
the length of time required for
examination.
Difficulties Cited
Health Department officials
said there have been difficulties
in recruiting the team. DR.. John
D. Schultz, head of District Cen
erals psychiatric division, said,
however, that he has had three
or four highly qualified appli-
cants for both the psychologist
and social worker positions. The
delay, he said. has been in get
ting job descriptions written
and approved.
! Only in the past two weeks
have the job descriptions for the
psychologist and the social
worker finally been approved.
The former will go to work to-
morrow, Mr.. Schultz said, and
| the latter will come on in two
weeks after giving notice at the
present job.
The job description for the
psychiatrist finally cleared the
Health Department last week
and is now in the District Per-
sonnet Office.
Funds Issue Unsettled
! The fund question still is I'M
settled,
/ Last october, the Commission
ers voted to close the Upshur
Street tuberculosis Hospital and
divide the savings between Glenn
Dale Hospital and District Gen
eral Hospital. Part of the saw
ings was to be used to open and
staff a maximum security ward
at District General. The ques-
ton was left open whether some
of this money should be used to
pay for the psychiatric team or
whether a supplemental APP
preparation should be sought.
| All that the psychiatric divi-
sion got out of the Upshur street
closing was some attendant posi-
tions-the figure on that ranges
from four to eight. depending
on who is asked-and one or two
nurses. The ward was opened
but wasn't made escape-proof
until after an escape.
Since only a few months now
remain before the end of the
fiscal year, the Health Depart
ment figures District General can
absorb the salaries OF the
psychiatric team for what re-
mains of the fiscal year after
the team finally goes to work.
But no move has yet been made
to finance the team next fiscal
year.
Commissioner Mclaughlin said
he hoped this item might be in
cluded in an amended Health
Department budget to be pre-
sented to the Senate Appropria-
tionS subcommittee. Otherwise.
he said, a supplemental budget
could be sought.
Patients Accumulate
Meanwhile, DR.. Schultz said,
the prisoner patients accumu-I
lated at such a rate that I'VE
had to sacrifice treatment of the
criminal patients" to pro-
cess them.
BY concentrating on the pris-I
oners, the total now in the hos
pital has been reduced to 80 pa
tients-of whom Is are awaiting
transfer to ST. Elizabeth's Hos
pital.
Dr.. Schultz said court cases
have been occupying nearly one
third of the patient beds. The
prisoner population started up
with last falls opening of court,
after a law passed last summer
for mental examinations of pris-
oners to be performed at the
hospital rather than the Jail.