“No Fixed Abode”: A Survey of Mental Hospital Admissions

Abstract

1. There has been a great increase in the number of patients of no fixed abode (N.F.A.s) admitted to mental hospitals in the Birmingham region in the last ten years. 2. An analysis of admissions of N.F.A.s to one Birmingham mental hospital over a four-year period is presented. These admissions amounted to 23 per cent. of the total for the Birmingham area. 3. The increasing N.F.A.s admission rate is compared with that of the mentally abnormal offenders and it would appear that similar causes are operating: (a) Too rapid discharge by the mental hospital. (b) Lack of adequate support in the community. It is suggested that redevelopment of city areas and the consequent loss of lodging accommodation is an additional factor in the case of N.F.A.s. 4. Further investigation of this phenomenon is planned in the Birmingham Region.