Norwood Outpatient Clinic history in brief
After the closure of the Novar Clinic, the Ballarat Psychiatric Hospital was in great need of another day and outpatient facility.
By 1956, Norwood Outpatient Clinic had been established, which eventually comprised the Norwood Adult Clinic and the Norwood Children’s Clinic, 1959.
Many more patients were seen at the adult clinic than at the children’s clinic. According to the Mental Health Authority Annual Report 1964–65, the ratio was approximately seven adults for every child. Despite this, it reported that:
‘The Children's Clinic at Norwood has continued to be busy and the social worker is now taking part in the therapeutic team work and has formed a club for teenage boys. The Norwood Clinic functions every afternoon.’
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.
Disclaimer
Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Source
- Mental Hygiene Authority Annual Report to Parliament for the year ended 30 June 1954.
- Mental Hygiene Authority Annual Report to Parliament for the year ended 30 June 1956.
- Mental Hygiene Authority Annual Report to Parliament for the year ended 30 June 1957
- Mental Health Authority Annual Report to Parliament for the years 1964 and 1965.
List of records held by the department
For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.
PLEASE NOTE: Patients could be admitted to a Receiving House for short-term treatment and care, but were not permitted to remain longer than two months.
Patients still needing treatment after two months could be sent to a Psychiatric Hospital, in the same institution/complex or another. Hence, there could be more than one set of records for any one person. Please check each location for former patient records.
Outpatient case histories [Norwood, Novar, Parklands, Ballarat Base Hospital, Maryborough, Daylesford, Castlemaine, Creswick] (c.1957-90)
File; Temporary
Content: This collection comprises the patient case histories of several outpatient clinics, but predominantly patients from the Norwood and Novar Clinics, which treated both children and adults.
This collection consists of outpatient files for those who periodically attended outpatient clinics within Ballarat psychiatric services for the following clinics: Norwood; Novar; Parklands; Ballarat Hospital; Maryborough; Daylesford; Castlemaine, Creswick.
The distinctive feature of outpatient files compared with inpatient files is that the outpatient files do not contain ‘date left’ entries (for discharge or death), as they represent the patients attending the day clinics. Some of the patients had previously been inpatients within the hospitals.
Files contents include: statement of personal details; reports of examinations and special investigations; psychiatric history and report; nursing notes; referral letters; assessments; monitoring; recommendations; tracking cards record previous admissions or visits; medication prescription cards.
The files have been arranged in alphabetical order by family name.
Norwood Children’s Clinic Outpatient Children’s Clinic patient case histories (c.1956-85)
File; Temporary
Content: Case histories of children treated at the clinic. The files detail each patient’s treatment and progress.
This collection consists of patient files for children who visited Norwood children’s clinic. The files detail: the patient’s case history and background information; assessment or monitoring; information; referral letters; psychiatric history; examination results; recommendations.
The files are arranged in alphabetical order by family name.
Patient drug dispensing records (c.1987-90)
Card; Temporary
Content: Cards containing details of medication prescribed to outpatients, including their name, address, prescription, signature of medical officer and date of dispensing.
[Records destroyed since 2004.]
Reviewed 26 August 2016