Pioneers : unlocking the asylum.
- Date:
- 1996
- Videos
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In 1953 Dr. David Clark became Medical Superintendent of Fulborn Mental Hospital, Cambs. There were 1000 patients, 90 to a ward, many of whom had been there for years. The regime was one of strict control. David Clark, however, saw a parallel between this regime and military methods and considered it unsuitable for patients and brutalizing for staff. Matron Queenie Brock had long shared this opinion and welcomed the chance to co-operate in reforming Fulbourn. Wards were gradually unlocked and patients were encouraged to take responsibility for managing their wards and, to some extend, their own treatment. New drugs, especially largactyl, were important in enabling the relaxation of the old regime. From this sprang the idea of a halfway house for patients well enough to leave hospital but not ready to cope alone. Fulbourn's methods, however, attracted some criticism. They were hard on staff and the hospital could not always keep its balance between freedom and chaos. Sir Martin Roth, appointed in 1976 as university Professor of Psychiatry, moved the hospital away from group to individual treatment. David Clark found that this change disrupted Fulbourn's theraputic nature and affected the good relationships between staff and patients. Shortly after this change, the new national emphasis on a quick turn round of patients upset both Roth and Clark. Their methods differed but neither saw any good in this development. Fulbourn now has only 280 beds and has reverted to the locked ward. David Clark is fatalistic about the undoing of his work. He says that society gets the mental health facilities it deserves. The time will come when it rediscovers social therapy and Fulbourn's documentation is available to be consulted whenever this comes about.
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