Views And Reviews
A job for life
BMJ 1994; 308 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.308.6940.1376a (Published 21 May 1994) Cite this as: BMJ 1994;308:1376
- C Douglas
In one of our long stay wards a patient - large, confused, and still mobile - is causing trouble. By day a model citizen, at night he prowls restlessly, wandering in dark corridors, peering into cupboards and occasionally beating up a fellow patient. A problem, certainly. The answer? A transfer to psychogeriatric care. And the explanation? Well, perhaps it's something to do with his former occupation - 30 years as a constable with the City of Edinburgh police.
In another long stay unit the ward rounds are regularly joined by a tall, patrician figure whose expression is one of puzzled disappointment. “I'm sorry,” he announces. “I don't …