Methods of treatment had made great advances

"Janet Frame having failed to maintain a good level of response to the ordinary physical methods of treatment... is deemed to be a suitable subject for Prefrontal Leucotomy Operation to which I hereby give my consent... I understand to what extent this operation may offer a measure of relief and the minor element of risk involved."

Wrestling with the Angel, Michael King, p.112.

Of course, Janet Frame was famously saved from this operation in 1952 by winning a literary award. My grandmother was still at Seacliff at the time. The doctor that spoke to Isobel on one of her visits had confidently said that nowadays they had a: "Much better understanding [of mental health] and methods of treatment had made great advances."

Janet Frame's friend was also at Seacliff and had a leucotomy. Afterwards:

"[They] were talked to, taken for walks, prettied with make-up and floral scarves covering their shaved heads. They were silent, docile; their eyes were large and dark and their faces pale, with damp skin. They were being 'retrained' to 'fit in' to the everyday world, always described as 'outside'. In the whirlwind of work and shortage of staff and the too-slow process of retraining, the leucotomies one by one became the casualties of withdrawn attention and interest."

Wrestling with the Angel, Michael King, p.113