Parklands Clinic (1968–87)

Summary

Auspice: Hospitals for the Insane Branch 1867 - 1905 ; Lunacy Department, located in Chief Secretary's Department 1905 - 1934 ; Department of Mental Hygiene, located in Chief Secretary's Department 1934-1937 ; Department of Mental Hygiene 1937-1944 ; Department of Health I 1944-1952 ; Mental Hygiene Authority [statutory authority] 1952-1962 ; Mental Health Authority [statutory authority] 1962-1978 ; Health Commission of Victoria 1978-1985 ; Department of Health II 1985-1992
Name: Parklands Clinic

Parklands Clinic history in brief

In December 1968, the Ballarat Psychiatric Hospital opened Parklands Clinic at Lakeside Hospital. Initially most patients were admitted to Parklands from Ballarat Receiving House and the Ballarat Psychiatric Hospital.

Parklands provided treatment on an inpatient basis for approximately 40 patients, teenagers to the elderly, with acute, short-term psychiatric illness. Patients could be admitted on a voluntary basis or by recommendation. The average stay was three to six weeks, and patients needing long-term treatment were transferred to Lakeside Hospital.

Treatment was essentially group therapy and individual psychotherapy. Drug therapy and electroconvulsive therapy were also used.

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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 & Connect.

Sources

Archival Services agency histories.

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.

Patient warrants (1969–87)

Document; Unappraised

Content: These warrants are compiled to show that each patient was legally admitted to the psychiatric clinic. The warrants contain details of the person and medical certificates relating to their admission, leave or discharge.

Each set of patient records consists of a number of documents attached together. These documents are collectively known as warrants.

Documentation varies depending on whether the patient was voluntary or involuntary, but each category of admission documentation was defined by legislation, and includes:

application for admission as a voluntary patient
request to receive a patient and medical practitioner’s recommendation (involuntary)
statement of personal details
applications or orders for leave or discharge
notice of death.

Warrants are grouped in discharge date order, and within each date group they are arranged sequentially in admission number order. Admission numbers, along with dates of discharge of patients, are recorded in the Parkside admission and discharge registers.

Admission and discharge register (1969–87)

Volume; (VPRS Number 17834 / P0001)

Content: The registers provide summary details of people admitted to and discharged from the clinic. These records are also an index to the patient warrants.
Each register contains an alphabetical index showing the page number where the patient details will be found.

The register entries are arranged in a double-page column format, chronological by date of patient admission. Each patient is assigned a sequential admission number.

The registers are used to document the admission of both male and female patients in a single numbering sequence, a practice introduced in 1962. Prior to this, the institutions compiled two sequences of registers, separate volumes for male and female patients.

The patient details are arranged under the following column headings:

type of admission – V [voluntary] / R [recommended] / A [approved /J [judicial] / S [security]
number in order of admission
date of admission
surname and first name in full
Secretary’s signature

date of birth
marital state
occupation
previous place of abode
religion

form of mental disorder
bodily condition and name of disease (if any)
superintendent’s signature
date of death, discharge etc.
Secretary’s signature

discharged – rec. / otherwise
name of state institution to which transferred
died
assigned cause of death
present at death.

The registers demonstrate that patient stay was short and patients were transferred to other facilities, generally Lakeside Hospital.

Patient case histories (1969–89)

File; Unappraised

Content: Case histories of patients admitted to the clinic for treatment. The files document patients’ treatment and progress.

Each patient admitted to Parklands had a file created, as required by legislation. Files document the case history of patients from the time of admission to their discharge or death.

Content of files includes:

statement of personal details
superintendent’s examinations
special investigations
physical examinations
psychiatric history
psychiatric examination
nursing notes
special treatment.

File covers include the name of the patient and details of movements in and out of the clinic.

The files are grouped by year of discharge or death, and within each group, they are arranged alphabetically by patients’ family name.

Leave of absence register (1971–87) (1963–70)

Volume; Unappraised

Content: These registers contain summary details of voluntary patients absent from the clinic on leave of absence.

Leaves of absence were for a maximum period of three months, after which the patient could not be re-admitted, although they could have subsequently entered the clinic via a new admission.

Voluntary patients were those who sought admission or treatment on their own initiative, and thus could also leave the psychiatric inpatient service on their own initiative.

Information recorded includes:

leave of absence number (a sequential, single number)
name of patient
period of leave allowed
extension of leave
return or discharge dates
name, address and relationship of guardian.

Leave of absence registers document voluntary patients who were released on leave.

There are two volumes that contain leave of absence records for Parkside Clinic. One volume contains entries exclusive to Parkside, with entries dated 1971 to 1987. The other volume, dated 1963 to 1970, primarily records leave of absence from Lakeside Hospital. It also includes entries in red ink for leave of absence from the Ballarat Psychiatric Hospital and Parklands Clinic.

Trial leave registers (1971–88) (1965–70)

Volume, Unappraised

Content: These registers contain summary information about involuntary patients absent from the clinic on trial leave.