Crisis and Aftermath: Community Psychiatry in Saskatchewan, 1963-69*

Abstract

In 1962, despite the development of distinotive treatment methods, Saskatchewan had the highest number of patients in mental institutions (per 100,000 population) in the whole of Canada. Between 1963 and 1967 a dramatic reduction to 40 per cent of its previous level occurred in the Saskatchewan mental hospital population. This reduction was associated with tensions within the psychiatric service, in some local communities and amongst the public, and led to three major reviews of the system: by an Ad Hoc Committee (1966), by Dr. Shervert H. Frazier (1967), and by a group of management consultants (1968). A brief outline is given of the changes which took plJace, the tensions which were generated and the three studies which were conducted. This is followed by a description of guidelines to a new Saskatchewan program in which stress is laid upon community involvement, a cybernetic model, a competitive system, participative management. and a problem-solving approach to conflict resolution. It is suggested that the study of the conditions which foster human responsibility and concern for people forms a legitimate subjeot for future research.