Harry Bailey
Encyclopedia
Harry Richard Bailey was a controversial Australian psychiatrist
. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental patients via Sledge hammers, and other methods, at a Sydney
mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of a total of 85 patients. He committed suicide before he could be jailed.
with Robert Heath
of Tulane University
. He also studied electroconvulsive therapy
under Cedric Howell Swanton
back in Australia. During the late 1950s Bailey emerged as one of the most high-profile figures in Australia's mental health professions, being photographed with leading politicians such as New South Wales
Premier Joseph Cahill
.
As well as deep sleep therapy - which had been pioneered by prominent British psychiatrist William Sargant
- patients underwent large amounts of involuntary electroconvulsive therapy
, and frequently learned only years afterwards that they had been given it. Female patients also complained of sexual molestation by Bailey. Through this time Bailey and Sargant remained in contact; Bromberger and Fife-Yeomans reported that "Bailey often spoke of the competition between them [him and Sargant] to see who could keep their patients in the deepest coma without killing them."
The resultant scandal broke in the early 1980s, and closed down Chelmsford entirely. The Chelmsford Royal Commission
from 1988 to 1990, headed by John Slattery of the New South Wales Supreme Court, produced findings concerning Chelmsford's horrors that ran to twelve volumes. Comprehensively disgraced and finally, if belatedly abandoned by Sargant himself (who wrote to Bailey disassociating himself from the latter's techniques), Bailey committed suicide by ingesting barbiturates. He left a note which read: "Let it be known that the Scientologists and the forces of madness have won"; the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
, a Scientology
-founded organisation, had been active in publicising the Chelmsford patients' sufferings.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental patients via Sledge hammers, and other methods, at a Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of a total of 85 patients. He committed suicide before he could be jailed.
Training
Whereas most of his compatriots who specialised in psychiatry sought out their training wholly in Britain, Bailey (having, according to his biographers Brian Bromberger and Janet Fife-Yeomans, faked details of his Sydney schooling) worked in LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
with Robert Heath
Robert Galbraith Heath
Dr. Robert Galbraith Heath was an American psychiatrist. He followed the theory of biological psychiatry that organic defects were the sole source of mental illness, and that consequently mental problems were treatable by physical means.Heath founded the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at...
of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. He also studied electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
under Cedric Howell Swanton
Cedric Howell Swanton
Dr Cedric Howell Swanton was an Australian physicianand psychiatrist.-Biography:Swanton was educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne, then went to the United Kingdom for postgraduate studies in surgery in London and Edinburgh...
back in Australia. During the late 1950s Bailey emerged as one of the most high-profile figures in Australia's mental health professions, being photographed with leading politicians such as New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Premier Joseph Cahill
Joseph Cahill
John Joseph Cahill was Premier of New South Wales in Australia from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state.-Early years:Joe Cahill, as he was popularly known,...
.
Crimes
Between 1962 and 1979, Bailey was chief psychiatrist at Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney's northwest. Under his care, twenty-six Chelmsford patients died, with only perfunctory investigation by authorities. The last of these deaths, that of Miriam Podio, a telecommunications company employee hospitalised for severe depression, occurred in the early hours of August 12, 1977. (Another twenty-four patients, who had been treated at Chelmsford Private Hospital, had committed suicide by 1990.)As well as deep sleep therapy - which had been pioneered by prominent British psychiatrist William Sargant
William Sargant
William Walters Sargant was a controversial British psychiatrist who is remembered for the evangelical zeal with which he promoted treatments such as psychosurgery, deep sleep treatment, electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy.Sargant studied medicine at St John's College, Cambridge,...
- patients underwent large amounts of involuntary electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
, and frequently learned only years afterwards that they had been given it. Female patients also complained of sexual molestation by Bailey. Through this time Bailey and Sargant remained in contact; Bromberger and Fife-Yeomans reported that "Bailey often spoke of the competition between them [him and Sargant] to see who could keep their patients in the deepest coma without killing them."
The resultant scandal broke in the early 1980s, and closed down Chelmsford entirely. The Chelmsford Royal Commission
Chelmsford royal commission
The Chelmsford Royal Commission , chaired by Justice John Patrick Slattery, was established by the New South Wales state government to investigate "Mental Health Services" in NSW. It came about only after prominent Sydney radio and TV shows pressured the newly-elected Health Minister to make good...
from 1988 to 1990, headed by John Slattery of the New South Wales Supreme Court, produced findings concerning Chelmsford's horrors that ran to twelve volumes. Comprehensively disgraced and finally, if belatedly abandoned by Sargant himself (who wrote to Bailey disassociating himself from the latter's techniques), Bailey committed suicide by ingesting barbiturates. He left a note which read: "Let it be known that the Scientologists and the forces of madness have won"; the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. The group promotes several video campaigns which support views against psychiatry...
, a Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
-founded organisation, had been active in publicising the Chelmsford patients' sufferings.