The History of the British Lunatic Asylum
The Decline and Closure of the British Mental Hospital
In 1961 the Minister of Health, Enoch Powell was invited to speak at the AGM of the National Association for Mental Health. In his speech he announced that it the government of the day intended to "the elimination of by far the greater part of the country's mental hospitals." At the same time, regional boards were asked to "ensure that no more money than necessary is spent on upgrading and reconditioning". This announcement had stunned the medical professions as there had been no indication that the government was going to head in this direction; only a handful of experimental community care programmes existed around the country. It would take 25 years for these plans to take afoot.
There were two reasons for the decline in the large institutions, the advancement in psychiatric treatment meant that a standard hospital was able to provide care to acute cases that needed immediate attention and the drugs available meant that patients did not need twenty-four hour care. This meant that the traditional asylum was left with fewer long term patients to care for - patient numbers reduced from over 150,00 in 1950 to 80,000 in 1975. The second reason for the closure of the mental hospitals was the passing of the Mental Health Act 1983 - this saw the people being committed to the large asylums being given back their rights and having the ability to appeal their certification; it also saw the mentally deficient being moved back into the community, under the care in community projects.
The first hospital to close due to the shift in medical treatment and
public perception was
Banstead
Hospital in 1986, others followed suit over the next twenty years, with only a
handful remaining open today. The medical staff at many hospitals still
keep in contact with their old patients to make sure that the arrangement was
working for them. The hospitals themselves either stand empty and
derelict, or have been demolished and converted to cheap affordable housing,
with only a few reminders to the residents of the previous history there.
The Victorian Asylums are now a long forgotten memory, however in a recent NHS
study, they have found that people suffering from mental illnesses recover when
they are in a safe environment and are involved in their treatment.
For a comprehensive list of all the British Asylums and an in depth background
into the history of mental health, please visit
Mental Health History
Timeline
County Asylums