D. Ewen Cameron's Day Hospital and the Day Hospital Movement

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Abstract
D. Ewen Cameron founded the first day hospital in the Western World at the Allan Memorial Institute in 1946. The present article deals with the historical development of the day hospital through an understanding of Dr. Cameron's era and his pursuits. The post- World War II period was one of great advancement in psychiatry. Growing understanding of the patient from the psychosocial, biological and interpersonal points of view helped bring this discipline into the arena of the general hospital. Dr. Cameron's ability to integrate these different levels, stimulated by his earlier collaboration with Adolf Meyer, laid the groundwork for the modern day hospital. The defining principles of the day hospital as advanced by Cameron are considered as they relate to the Allan Memorial Day Hospital of the 1950's. A setting with no beds, a daily routine that allows the patient to return home, as well as group and family interaction were developments that would set the stage for the expansion of the day hospital movement in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. This growth culminated in professional and legislative recognition of partial hospitalization as an important treatment modality. Despite underutilization, the day hospital approach remains flexible and responsive to the needs of today's psychiatric patients.

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