From hospital to community: a system changes.

Interest in the community and institutional aspects of mental health care in Saskatchewan goes back to the early history of the province, but it is the last 15--20 years which have seen the most exciting developments. During this time the province has changed from having one of the highest mental institutionalization rates in the world to one of the lowest. One mental hospital was phased out and the other reduced to a shadow of its former self. An account of the changes which occurred during this period is given together with the story of the stresses generated. Finally, a 1979 perspective is offered on the Saskatchewan psychiatric program.