Suchergebnisse

Health consists of the maintenance of a balance between selfperpetuation in as constant a form as possible & evolution through external exchanges with the environment. Every disease may be described as an attack on this homeostatic mechanism. Any ill person tends to regress by putting the need for constancy & security before the need for exchange; hence, he has an increased need for protection & experiences an egocentric narrowing of interests & a diminished capacity for integrating space & time. This has been common knowledge as far as his physical functions are concerned, but the mental function: also need security, maternal care & a reduction of exchanges with the outside world. To meet these needs in a hospital situation means to provide the security & other advantages of home life without the personal responsibility this usually entails. This environment is approached by employing a hostess to arrange the details of reception into the hosp; by having only one doctor & one nurse responsible for the care of the patient; by keeping the ward within a size, ideally holding 20 to 40 persons, which can be handled by a small team of attendants; & by seeing that the whole institution forms a single unit, ideally a capacity of about 300. Psychol'al & soc requirements are equally important in making architectural plans for a hosp, keeping in mind the 2 major needs of patient-protection & independence. B. J. Keeley.