Powick Hospital
Encyclopedia
Powick Hospital was a psychiatric facility located on 552 acres (2.2 km²) outside the village of Powick
, Worcestershire
. Founded in 1847 as the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, it was designed by architects John R. Hamilton & James Medland of Gloucester
and opened in August 1852. Situated between Worcester
and Malvern
on former farmland known as White Chimneys, the asylum was originally erected for the accommodation of 200 inmates but was later extended and by 1858 had 365 patients. By the 1950s it had around 1,000 patients and major research and experimentation in the treatment of chronic depression and schizophrenia was being carried out. The asylum closed in 1989 leaving Barnsley Hall Hospital
in Bromsgrove
as the remaining psychiatric hospital in the county. Most of the complex has been demolished to make way for a housing estate. The main building, however, was converted into flats and the Superintendent's Residence was converted to company offices.
Overseeing management of the asylum was carried out by a committee of visitors, while treatment of patients was the responsibility of a resident physician and qualified assistants. Patients were employed to carry out much of the everyday work and maintenance in a variety of workshops for various trades, a gas works, a farm, brewhouse, bakehouse and a chapel.
was appointed as band instructor at the hospital and composed a number of works for the attendants band. The doctors at the Asylum in the 1870’s showed a remarkably enlightened attitude when they instituted a series of orchestral concerts there, as well as the Friday night dances for the inmates. Elgar, as a young violinist in the district played in the concerts from 1877, and in January 1879 succeeded Fred S. May in the post of Band Instructor. His job consisted of conducting the Asylum Band, made up of the staff of the Asylum, and composing music for the Friday dances. The authorities paid him £4 per annum less than his predecessor, no doubt because of his inexperience, but he received about £30 per year, plus 5 shillings for every polka and quadrille and one shilling and sixpence for accompaniments to the Christy Minstrel ditties of the day.
, Dr. Ronald Sandison
moved to Powick and began pioneering British work in the psychiatric use of LSD, developing a program he called "Psycholytic Therapy" (literally "mind loosening therapy") for treatment of illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia
. An LSD treatment unit was established at the hospital in 1958 in which Dr. Sandison administered his therapy until he left the institution in 1964. Medical Superintendent Dr. Arthur Spencer continued the program until Sandoz abruptly withdrew supplies of the drug in 1966, due to the problems of illicit recreational use. Records indicate that 683 patients had been treated with LSD in 13,785 separate sessions before the program was discontinued. In 2002 the NHS
agreed to pay £195,000, in an out of court settlement, to 43 former psychiatric patients who were treated with LSD between 1950 and 1970.
Sandison writes about his early years at Powick:
", a leading British television documentary series, showing elderly patients of Ward F13 being left soaking in their own urine. The programme also featured other notorious examples of how the institution 'cared' for its patients in overcrowded conditions without dignity or privacy. This footage was subsequently re-used in a current affairs strand in 1993 - 1994. The footage of Ward F13's patients was superimposed on a picture of an asylum wall while a reporter disguised as a homeless schizophrenic looks back at how psychiatric patients were treated.
The asylum wall at Powick itself was knocked down in the 1950's as part of Dr. Arthur Spencer's initiatives in updating and modernising the hospital. In the World in Action programme, Dr Spencer speaks of having to take the decision, as Medical Superintendent, to spend the limited funds available on acute rather than chronic care. The shocking revelations of the Ward F13 programme contributed to Powick being amongst the first wave of mental hospitals selected for closure in favour of community care developments. Acute admissions ceased in 1978 and the last patients were discharged in 1989.
Powick
Powick is a Worcestershire village two miles south of the city of Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern, close to the River Teme. It is a civil parish of the Malvern Hills District, and it includes the village of Callow End and the hamlets of Bastonford, Clevelode, Colletts Green, and...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. Founded in 1847 as the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, it was designed by architects John R. Hamilton & James Medland of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
and opened in August 1852. Situated between Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
and Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
on former farmland known as White Chimneys, the asylum was originally erected for the accommodation of 200 inmates but was later extended and by 1858 had 365 patients. By the 1950s it had around 1,000 patients and major research and experimentation in the treatment of chronic depression and schizophrenia was being carried out. The asylum closed in 1989 leaving Barnsley Hall Hospital
Barnsley Hall Hospital
Barnsley Hall Hospital was a psychiatric facility located in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on a site purchased by the County Council in 1899. It opened in 1907, to relieve pressure on the county's only existing asylum, Powick Hospital near Malvern and to serve the northern part of the...
in Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
as the remaining psychiatric hospital in the county. Most of the complex has been demolished to make way for a housing estate. The main building, however, was converted into flats and the Superintendent's Residence was converted to company offices.
Overseeing management of the asylum was carried out by a committee of visitors, while treatment of patients was the responsibility of a resident physician and qualified assistants. Patients were employed to carry out much of the everyday work and maintenance in a variety of workshops for various trades, a gas works, a farm, brewhouse, bakehouse and a chapel.
Edward Elgar
In 1879 at the age of 22, the composer Edward ElgarEdward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
was appointed as band instructor at the hospital and composed a number of works for the attendants band. The doctors at the Asylum in the 1870’s showed a remarkably enlightened attitude when they instituted a series of orchestral concerts there, as well as the Friday night dances for the inmates. Elgar, as a young violinist in the district played in the concerts from 1877, and in January 1879 succeeded Fred S. May in the post of Band Instructor. His job consisted of conducting the Asylum Band, made up of the staff of the Asylum, and composing music for the Friday dances. The authorities paid him £4 per annum less than his predecessor, no doubt because of his inexperience, but he received about £30 per year, plus 5 shillings for every polka and quadrille and one shilling and sixpence for accompaniments to the Christy Minstrel ditties of the day.
Research
In 1952, after visiting Sandoz in Switzerland and meeting Dr. Albert HofmannAlbert Hofmann
Albert Hofmann was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide . He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including LSD: My Problem Child...
, Dr. Ronald Sandison
Ronald A. Sandison
Ronald Arthur Sandison was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who was a well-known early pioneer in Britain of the clinical use of LSD in psychiatry...
moved to Powick and began pioneering British work in the psychiatric use of LSD, developing a program he called "Psycholytic Therapy" (literally "mind loosening therapy") for treatment of illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. An LSD treatment unit was established at the hospital in 1958 in which Dr. Sandison administered his therapy until he left the institution in 1964. Medical Superintendent Dr. Arthur Spencer continued the program until Sandoz abruptly withdrew supplies of the drug in 1966, due to the problems of illicit recreational use. Records indicate that 683 patients had been treated with LSD in 13,785 separate sessions before the program was discontinued. In 2002 the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
agreed to pay £195,000, in an out of court settlement, to 43 former psychiatric patients who were treated with LSD between 1950 and 1970.
Sandison writes about his early years at Powick:
...the amenities were bleak in the extreme compared with WarlinghamWarlingham Park HospitalWarlingham Park Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Warlingham, Surrey. It was located at in Chelsham.It opened on 26 June 1903 as the Croydon Mental Hospital ....
. The hospital had been built in 1852 for 200 patients... Arthur (Spencer) and I were the only consultants, and two assistant doctors completed the staff. There were nearly 1,000 patients, 400 of whom were living in the four large wards of the 'annexe' built in the 1890s.
I discovered that the heating system was defunct, many of the internal telephones did not work, and the hospital was deeply impoverished in every department. This state of affairs had been allowed to develop by the previous medical superintendent, Dr Fenton... who had spent 43 years at Powick. He practised the utmost economy and Powick became the cheapest hospital in the country... After discussion and consultation with my colleagues at Powick, and with the professor of Psychiatry in Birmingham, I undertook the clinical use of LSD at Powick Hospital towards the end of 1952.
Controversy
In 1968 Powick Hospital featured in a controversial edition of "World in ActionWorld in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
", a leading British television documentary series, showing elderly patients of Ward F13 being left soaking in their own urine. The programme also featured other notorious examples of how the institution 'cared' for its patients in overcrowded conditions without dignity or privacy. This footage was subsequently re-used in a current affairs strand in 1993 - 1994. The footage of Ward F13's patients was superimposed on a picture of an asylum wall while a reporter disguised as a homeless schizophrenic looks back at how psychiatric patients were treated.
The asylum wall at Powick itself was knocked down in the 1950's as part of Dr. Arthur Spencer's initiatives in updating and modernising the hospital. In the World in Action programme, Dr Spencer speaks of having to take the decision, as Medical Superintendent, to spend the limited funds available on acute rather than chronic care. The shocking revelations of the Ward F13 programme contributed to Powick being amongst the first wave of mental hospitals selected for closure in favour of community care developments. Acute admissions ceased in 1978 and the last patients were discharged in 1989.