Ashworth Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, England.
Ashworth is one of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales,
alongside Rampton and Broadmoor, that exist to work with people who require treatment
due to their "dangerous, violent or criminal propensities". Carstairs Hospital provides
high-security care for patients from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It is managed by Mersey Care NHS Trust. Patients are admitted to Ashworth Hospital in a range
of ways but all come because they present a grave danger to themselves and/or other
people. The majority, but not all, of Ashworth Hospital patients either come from prison,
through the court system or from another secure unit. Not all patients who are referred to
Ashworth Hospital are admitted. Each person being considered for admission is assessed
for suitability by a panel of senior clinicians. Once admitted the patient undergoes a period
of assessment in one of the admission wards. Assessment can take just a few weeks or many
months depending on the complexity of the patient’s condition. Some patients only
stay at the hospital for a short period; others stay for many years, with the average length
of stay being approximately six years. Patients remain in the high-security service until
they are safe and well enough to move to a medium-security or other unit. The majority
of patients in Ashworth Hospital come from the North West, West Midlands or Wales. Whenever
possible, patients in need of high-security care are treated in the high-security hospital
which is nearest to their home in order to make it easier for relatives and friends to
visit. The range of problems experienced by patients at Ashworth Hospital includes a wide
variety of mental disorders, with the majority experiencing psychotic conditions such as
schizophrenia. Many also have comorbid personality disorder and some have personality disorders
alone. Ashworth was formed from the merger of the
old Moss Side Hospital and the vastly more modern and considerably more appropriate Park
Lane Hospital, opened as a Broadmoor overspill unit in the early 1970s.
Like all the high secure hospitals, there have been major public inquiries, but none
for over a decade: Blom-Cooper in 1992 and Fallon in 1998. It currently provides care
for some 220 male patients. The old East site of the hospital has been
leased to the Prison Service, and is now the location of HMP Kennet.
Practices In the surrounding area of Maghull, Lydiate,
Melling and beyond, Ashworth is noted for the weekly test of its alarm system, sounded
at 9:00 am every Monday morning. The alarm, based on the air raid sirens used in WW II,
is audible in much of the surrounding area, as far afield as the outskirts of Kirkby,
Crosby and Skelmersdale. It is intended to warn residents and institutions of escapees,
of which there have been two in its history as a psychiatric hospital. There have, however,
been no escapes from within the current site and in this respect it is unique among the
English high-security hospitals. Ashworth currently has 14 wards.
A wide variety of pharmacological, rehabilitative and psychological treatments are available.
Rehabilitative and creative activity is supported with patients frequently entering work for
the Koestler awards winning 27 prizes in 2011. In collaboration with The Reader Organisation
reading groups have been set up in which staff and patients read literature together, promoting
confidence and developing communication and other skills.
Patients of note "Britain's Most Violent Prisoner", Charles
Salvador One of the "Moors Murderers", Ian Brady.
The "Cardiff Ripper", Richard Gwilym Robert Sartin, responsible for the Monkseaton
shootings Andrew Dawson, one of very few people in the
UK to have been given a whole life tariff "Police Killer", Dale Cregan
See also Broadmoor and Rampton Secure Hospital are
two other high-security mental hospitals in England and Wales, with the State Hospital
Carstairs fulfilling a similar role for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
External links A book about Ashworth Hospital from a patient
perspective References