ABSTRACT
IN our discussion of National Health Service hospitals for subnormal patients, two themes in particular emerge: the first of these is the uncertainty experienced by all types of staff about their respective roles (and this primarily affects nursing staff because they are numerically the largest group, as well as the group most in contact with patients). Secondly, there is the disparity between the way of life in the institution and life in the community outside, a situation which is partly physical, but partly due to the fact that little attempt is made to articulate the two. 1
