Broadmoor Hospital
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Broadmoor Hospital is a secure mental hospital in Crowthorne in Berkshire. It is the best known of the three high security psychiatric hospitals in England. The complex houses 326 patients - of whom about 49 are women. At any one time there are also approximately 36 patients on trial leave at other units. Many of the patients have personality disorders, and/or have previously been convicted of serious crimes.
Previously known as the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane, the change of name reflects a change in attitude to mental illness, and usage of the word "asylum".
The hospital was built in 1863, to a design by Sir Joshua Jebb, and covers 210,000 square metres (53 acres) within its secure perimeter.
Broadmoor Hospital is now part of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust. In 2002 the Trust expanded to include mental health provision in Hounslow. The Trust reports to the NHS Executive through the North-West London Strategic Health Authority.
It provides not only patient care but is also a centre for training and research.
See also:
Notable patients of Broadmoor Hospital
- Richard Dadd
- Kenneth Erskine
- June and Jennifer Gibbons
- Jonathan King
- Thomas John Ley
- Robert Mawdsley
- William Chester Minor
- Daniel M'Naghten
- John Straffen
- Peter Sutcliffe
External links
- BBC News background on Broadmoor Hospital (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2828945.stm)
- Architectural listing for Broadmoor Hospital (http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/broadmoo.htm)
- BBC News story on scandals and controversy regarding Broadmoor and other secure hospitals (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/826961.stm)