The Psychiatric Rehabilitee

¹ Consultant Psychiatrist, Middlewood Hospital, Sheffield

Thirty-six consecutive weekly intakes to a Ministry of Labour Industrial Rehabilitation Unit were studied. The criteria of performance on course were premature termination of the course and the final employability assessment —both applied by the non-medical staff.

It was found that 16 per cent. of those documented on entry as not disabled, or solely physically isabled were primarily psychiatrically disabled. This previously unknown "new" group are diagnostically loaded with personality disorders. The psychiatric cases did not fare significantly worse compared with non-psychiatric cases. The rehabilitee suffering from a Personality Disorder and living with the spouse fared significantly worse than the other psychiatric rehabilitees.

The following factors were unrelated to performance on course: a previous I.R.U. course, sex, age (except for the "clinically subnormal"), the period of unemployment, previous admission to a psychiatric hospital, compensation claims, or whether referral to the I.R.U. was via medical or non-medical channels.

The "clinically subnormal" rehabilitees aged 25 or less fared better than those aged 26 or more.