Britain's mental health scandal.

Date:
2006
  • Videos

About this work

Description

An undercover look at Britain's psychiatric wards. A trained mental health worker goes undercover in a number of NHS psychiatric hospitals including Eastbourne District General, East Sussex and Tolworth Hospital, south London. Staff cuts and stretched resources mean the mental health system is clearly failing its patients. Kevin Gournay, Professor of Psychiatric Nursing, looks through the footage and assesses the problems. At Glenfield Hospital, Leicestershire we see some worrying sexual abuse occurring between patients. Marjorie Wallace from SANE talks about the risks to patients of being in an inappropriately run psychiatric ward and we hear how a schizophrenic 50-year-old woman managed to abscond from Runwell Hospital, Essex, and commit suicide. Likewise in Eastbourne 25-year-old Samantha hung herself in her room. Meanwhile hospital staff are also at risk. An astonishing 75% of mental health workers have been attacked by patients at one point or another - we hear how healthcare assistant Ishun Chattun was beaten to death by a patient he was watching at Springfield University Hospital, south west London.

Publication/Creation

UK : Channel 4, 2006.

Physical description

1 videocassette (60 min.) (VHS) : sound, color, PAL.

Notes

Broadcast on 9 October, 2006

Copyright note

First Frame for Channel 4

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    3492V

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