Jane Jones (6585)

Date of Admission: June 9, 1905
Date of Discharge: September 22, 1905
Discharge Category: Recovered

Disease: Mania
Supposed Cause: Heredity

Medical Certificate:
Refusing to speak and when asked questions breaking out by singing and throwing her arms about. Grace Jones, her sister, states that she wanted to jump out of the window and thrashing her father with a stick. Dr. R. Arthur Pritchard, 5 High Street, Conway.

Approximate duration of present attack: 7 days

Number of Previous Attacks: 0

Number of Previous Admissions: 0

Number of Subsequent Admissions: 7

Total Number of Admissions: 8

Relatives affected: An aunt has been an inmate here

Epileptic: No

Suicidal: No

Dangerous: No

Clean Habit: -

Food Refusal: -

Sleep Habit: -

Destructive Habit: -

Disposition: Well behaved

Education: -

Physical/Mental State at Examination: Health good. No definite exciting cause is to be found but a predisposition to insanity is present, the attack commenced suddenly a week ago and she showed the ordinary symptoms of acute mania.

Current Diagnosis: Bipolar affective disorder (F31.6)

Medications/Treatments:

Additional Notes

Readmissions:

Little over a month after her discharge, the patient was readmitted on 26th October (No. 6652) and diagnosed with Melancholia.

The Medical Certificate reads:

She says she was discharged from the Asylum about 5 weeks ago, went to her sister's and afterwards to a situation where she was very uncomfortable, constantly troubled, that she was a sinful and lost person she left her situation and came to the Asylum here of her own accord.

(In fact, Jane turned up at the Asylum Workroom window on the evening of the 24th October asking to be allowed to come in. She was kept at the hospital till the following day when at the request of the Conway Relieving Officer she was taken into Denbigh and certified by the St. Asaph Authorities there).

She was discharged relieved on 15th December 1906.

23rd October 1909 (No. 7354) admitted from Conway Workhouse and diagnosed with Subacute Mania. The Medical Certificate reads: I.

Mrs. Catherine Jones, Matron, states that she undresses herself naked and walks about the room and grounds shouting and throwing her arms about continually.

II. Knocking the inmates in the face when they are carrying babies in their arms, singing and shouting.

She was discharged recovered on 25th February 1910.

(Jane Jones' future admissions were all from Conway Workhouse but whether she was a permanent resident of the Workhouse from the age of 20 or whether she was always taken to the Workhouse Hospital when she became disturbed and transferred from there to the Asylum when she became difficult to manage is unclear.

It is stated in one of her Certificates that she had three illegitimate children so it is not impossible that, without any means of support (her father had 'been dead for many years' by 1916), she lived most of her adult life in the Poor Law Institution)

22nd January 1916 (No. 8588) again with Mania.

The Medical Certificate reads: (a) She is talking very incoherently and irrationally. Talking about her father, who has been dead for many years as if he was alive at the present day. She is talking about having milched a great number of cows in the morning which is not correct. She is also very excitable and unmanageable.

(b) Mrs Mary Evans, the Matron, Poor Law Institution, Conway, states: That she is running about, shouting and singing alternately. Continually undressing herself and walking about nearly naked.

She saw a horse in the yard and took him a bucketful of soapy water to drink.

Discharged 26th September 1916 recovered.

2nd December 1918 (No. 9136) with Mania.

The Medical Certificate reads:

(a) She walks about in an aimless manner. She is talking incoherently and inclined to be violent at times. She thinks that the Magistrate Mr. Owen Rowland is a son of the King.

(b) Mrs. Mary Evans, Matron, Poor Law Institution, Conway, states that she walks about the rooms at night whistling and singing at the top of her voice. She has been pulling and dragging the beds about the rooms all the morning. She is dancing about and says the Matron is related to her which is not the case. Discharged 14th October 1919 recovered.

13th July 1921 (No. 9701) admitted with Recurrent Mania.

The Medical Certificate reads: She talks very incoherently. She says that she was going to marry the Prince of Wales, but will not now as she does not think they will agree together.

She says she has had 14 children whereas she has had only 3.

Mr. Edward Evans, the Master, PL Institution, Conway, states that she runs about the yard and throws things about.

She was wandering about the Ward at night singing and shouting. Last night she tried to push a cotton reel down an inmate's throat when she was asleep and saying it was a pill.

Discharged recovered on 14th October 1922.

15th January 1930 (No. 11352) with Mania.

The Medical Certificate reads: She looks very wild with her hair down over her face. She has been singing, shouting and whistling, disturbing the other patients.

She talks incessantly and incoherently.

Mrs Sarah Edith Lewis, Matron, PL Institution, Conway, states that she gets into violent tempers at times and throws crockery about. She imagines that she is answering telephone calls at the telephone regarding the patients every morning.

She tears her clothes.

She was discharged recovered on 10th September 1930 after a month's trial.

Jane Jones' last recorded admission was on 1st July 1936 (No. 12694, C1118).

She was discharged on 21st November 1940.