Donal Felix Mary Early

Short abstract

Psychiatrist who became the doyen of the industrial rehabilitation movement

In postwar Britain institutionalisation was a major problem in all mental hospitals. Many longstay patients were unemployed or working for pocket money in the various hospital departments. New treatments improved prognosis but without proper employment discharge was impossible. Don Early helped to bring about change through the use of rehabilitation and industrial therapy. In 1957, as a psychiatrist at Bristol Mental Hospital, he enlisted the help of a local industrialist whose business relied on outworkers to assemble ballpoint pens. By the end of 1958 one third of Don Early's patients were working.

This worried the trade unions. Don invited their representatives to visit the hospital and gained the support of the regional secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union. In 1960 its general secretary visited the new Industrial Therapy Organisation (ITO) factory in central Bristol. The factory thrived, a hand car wash was opened, and properties were bought to provide intermediate sheltered housing. People were enabled to move out of the hospital via ITO into sheltered groups in open industry. ITO (Bristol) became the model for similar developments throughout the United Kingdom and internationally.

Don Early leaves a wife, Prudence; two daughters; and four grandchildren.

Donal Felix Mary Early, former consultant psychiatrist Bristol (b Roscommon, Ireland, 1917; q Dublin 1941; DPH, DPM, FRCPsych), d 12 April 2004.