Silent Minority part 3

Silent Minority, aired on british television June 1981. The documentary spotlights alledgedly appalling conditions at Borocourt Hospital, Reading, Berks and St Lawrences Hospital Caterham, Surrey.

St Lawrences Hospital

In 1974, the hospital came to public attention with the publication of the book Tongue Tied by Joseph ('Joey') John Deacon who had been a patient at the hospital since the age of eight in 1928. This was followed by the TV documentary Silent Minority in which the hospital featured in an unfavourable light.

The documentary brought out strong feelings at the time given the content which in one scene shows a child tied to a pole in a ward.

www.highroydshospital.co.uk

Category:

Education

Tags:

• St Lawrence hospital
• silent minority
• Caterham Mental Hospital
• high royds

[stealthpiccasso]

Hi Liz, Good to see a positive comment from someone with first hand experience. I would always say treat these programmes with caution, the makers are looking for sensationalism.

[chazawocky]

3.18, I yelled in shock when I saw that. I thought that kind if treatment belonged in the Victorian bygone age. That was truly disgusting.

[joelwhitaker]

If i was alive back then my Tourettes would have me locked in a place like this.....to be honest i am ashamed to be a part of society that has and still does treat people with disabilities like lesser beings. We are human, we have feelings. We also have the same Rights as the rest of you. Stop treating us like animals!

[jb55101]

they wouldnt be so hard to handel if they where treated right. i stayed in a place like this in the usa and was called willowbrook but we never went outside and was over 5 thousand in that place. but we where treated the same ignored

[cooldaddy1234567]

Why.

[Acrux53]

the boy tied to the post actually had a name, and that was nicholas stroud. he was transfered to a nursing home in south croydon, london, where he died peacefully in his sleep a couple of years ago. the comfort he recieved would not of been possible without the love and dedication of his auntie lesley

[Lucailey]

@chazawocky Oh my god! I agree with you. I was wondering what your comment was about. I know that now in the united states it is not legal to tie people up....but that was in the 80s and in england i believe. Wow, so sad.

[PDT121074]

The thing that horrified me was that some of the older patients at St Lawrence's were dumped there simply because they were illegitimate. Don't just criticise the staff, I witnessed the dislike of the surrounding population for those patients allowed out. These institutions exist because out of sight is out of mind. We as a society are afraid of these people because they are different, so get them out of sight and spend as little money on staff and facilities that is wrong, we are all guilty

[PDT121074]

I worked at St Lawrences from 1970 to 1973 as a ward orderly on the female side in wards B3, E1 (children's) and H block. In all the time I worked there I never witnessed abuse like that we have seen at Winterbourne View. The treatment now seems cruel and uncaring, my experience with 99.9% of the staff was that they cared very much, many of the patients on the wards I worked on went to work every day on various occupational therapy units in the grounds.

[NathanF11989]

This is a truly appalling spectacle.

[MsMonacos10]

what a horrible existance........ :(