The BCC’s documentary, Mental: A History of the Madhouse, creates a sympathetic impression of the patients and a negative attitude of the medical professionals. During the post-war period, more than 150, 000 mentally disturbed people were put in 120 concentration centers in the United Kingdom where thy received treatment. However, they no longer exist due to the numerous medical discoveries that have confirmed that mental health conditions are not unusual. The documentary also exhibits the milestones that have been achieved in integrating mental health patients in the community.
There are several things that are surprised in the documentary. First, it is sad that the mental patients were considered as literary insane and could not be allowed to associate with the other people. The location of the asylums, outside the cities, was an indication that they did not have a place in the society (JLO Production, 2014). Although this could be understood because the field of psychiatry were under-developed, holding them in asylums like outcasts was unacceptable. The interview conducted with some of the doctors and nurses who attended the patients reveal that the patients were kept behind bars and grills like criminals. Although their violent conditions might have triggered this, it appears wrong to restrict them like criminals.
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It is also shocking that doctors performed experimental brain surgeries on the patients. In the states, it was not possible to get their consent and therefore, the physicians disregarded their professional ethics. Although this was done in to try and come up with new practices, it was wrong to use the patients as specimens by taking advantage of their mental conditions (JLO Production, 2014).
The leadership qualities of Margaret Thatcher stand out in the documentary. She was opposed to the belief that madness was an act of God. She was responsible for the closure of the asylums and ordering the integration of the patients in the society. Other characters like Enoch Powel and R D Laing, through their radical reasoning, challenged the established of the asylums and made significant contributions for their closure (JLO Production, 2014). It is also interesting the amid the criticism heaped upon the segregated form of rehabilitation; some ex-patients consider the asylums, such as the High Royds Hospital as a haven where they fit comfortable since they could not cope with life outside the walls.
The closure of asylums in Britain and deinstitutionalization in the United States had various similarities. First, both were triggered by the growing concern among members of the public who believe it was inhuman to treat the patients in deplorable and solitary conditions. Secondly, the discovery of new drugs which could control the behavior of the patients triggered the physicians to consider it an informed move to discharge patients from hospitals. In both countries, the strengthened community health system had the capacity to assist in the reintegration of the metal ill patients in the community (JLO Production, 2014). However, in the United States, the closure of state hospitals did not address the challenge of homelessness. This led to more than a third of the released patients living in the streets. In the UK the system was more organized, and the Care in the Community Program ensured that the patients did not face unnecessary difficulties after being discharged.
In Britain, various bodies were against the isolation of mental health patients. The Asylum Friends was a movement formed by individual who had been discharged from the facilities. They complained about the inhuman conditions in the asylums and agitated for their closure (JLO Production, 2014). Different anti-groups also instigated the closure of state facilities in the United States. The Consumer and Ex-Patient Movement staged protests in the 1970s and joined the efforts of Liberation of Mental Patients, Project Release and the Insane Liberation Front to push the government to close the facilities.
The closure of the asylums in both Britain and the Unite Stats had various merits and disadvantages. In the UK, the patients were reintegrated back to the society. However, the social stigma that existed made a significant number of them to suffer from rejection and inadequate home care. The conditions under which they received care also improved since most of them could be cared for by their family members. In the United States, the closure of the state hospitals changed the way people viewed mental illness. Initially, families could hand over their mentally disturbed relatives to the institutions believing that they could not handle their conditions. After the closure of the facilities, the society’s perception towards the condition changed. However, some of the patients discharged from the facilities were homeless, and the government had not put in place measures to accommodate them in the society.
The current attitude towards the treatment of mental health patients has experienced a drastic transformation. Instead of concentrating patients in hospitals, the contemporary treatment methods prefer offering service to clients in the context of the community. This is believed to contribute to fast recovery due to the support given by close relatives and friends. Additionally, since there are drugs to control the behavior of the patients, the caregivers are no longer worried about the uncontrollable nature of mental health patients. The aim of the approach is to provide the most conducive, humane and friendly environment for the patients.
References
JLO Production. (Aug. 15, 2014). BBC Mental A History of the Madhouse full documentary. (video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oswUssXzFlY
