Deinstitutionalization meets restructuring: the closure of a psychiatric hospital in New Zealand

This paper examines the impending closure of Tokanui (Psychiatric) Hospital in the Waikato region of New Zealand. We view this event as both a single occurrence in the unfolding narrative of deinstitutionalization and a specific manifestation of restructuring. Following a consideration of the particularities of mental health care deinstitutionalization and health care restructuring in New Zealand and guided by a descriptive model of service localization, documentary sources and media reports are used to illuminate distinctive threads of alternative discourse on the closure of the hospital. The planned transfer of service location and modality, from a rural institution to an urban-centred network, is seen to have considerable and diverse implications for (and within) 'origin' and 'destination' communities. In the rural settlements near Tokanui, we observe accepting communities that have voiced support for the institution and their disappointment at the impending loss of jobs and part of their symbolic identity. We identify Maori as particularly affected by the closure, for reasons of special treatment at Tokanui as well as employment. In Hamilton, the planned site of relocated services, we observe social opposition consistent with the NIMBY ('not in my backyard') catchcry. The paper concludes with a critical (re)evaluation of the methods employed in the study and of opportunities for further research. Copyright (c) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd