28/11/2011 Inside Out East Midlands


28/11/2011

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How low, tonight, within the walls of Rampton, and Inside Out

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Just what happens inside this highly secure or psychiatric

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hospital has long been the subject of left and rumour. It was an

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asylum - and it has been portrayed as an asylum, or even a hugely

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expensive holiday camp where evil criminals are pampered. But what is

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the truth? For the first time in a generation, a TV crew has been

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allowed inside to make a film. We were not allowed to identify the

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patients we met were talk about the exact crimes they committed. John

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Holmes has been given this Rampton Hospital near the village

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of Woodbeck in Nottinghamshire is home to some of the most dangerous

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It is one of only three high- security psychiatric hospitals in

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the country. Most of the 350 patients have committed very

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serious crimes. No TV crew has been allowed inside this place for over

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18 years, but now Inside Out has obtained access to one of the most

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secretive and almost certainly most There are people here for mass

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murder. It is scary to think you are going to be in the same places

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that cannot person. My number one responsibility is to safeguard the

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public. It is really important to give hope, increasingly we are

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I came here because it has helped me realise what I was like. Stopped

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me from getting worse. It is not full of monsters, although people

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like to think it is. Rampton Hospital was opened nearly 100

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years ago, but it is now installed with 21st century high security.

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Because it has a long time since any TV crew was allowed in here and

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they were taking no chances. This is definitely the most stringent

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check-in I have experienced. I have filmed in Belize, prisons in

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America, and German prison, where they held members of the Red Army

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faction. This is definitely the most cake I have had to take out. -

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- kicked. I am holding everything up at the moment. Once inside, I

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asked the head of security about our sound man's confiscated kit.

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Blu Tac is a prohibited item. Celtic? Sellotape as well. --

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Sellotape. That patients here may be mentally ill, but highly

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ingenious. I was told Blu Tac could be used to make key impressions and

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stretched Sellotape could become a garotte. It is nearly 17 years

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since someone escaped from here. Two days before Christmas 1994,

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Paul Marshall, a rapist, used bootlaces to fashion a makeshift

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ladder. They are determined it won't happen again. The reasons for

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building a new fence round the hospital and all the new perimeter

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security is to make sure it doesn't happen. All that cost �25 million

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and includes a vast network of 900 CCTV cameras that monitor every

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move the patients make. I notice there are CCTV cameras all along

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the corridors. CCTV is integral to the safety and security of the

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wards. But no camera in here? not in the bedrooms. We checked the

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well-being of patients a minimum of every half are. And the intrusive

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nature of CCTV in the patients bedrooms means that we made a

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decision not to put it in the bedrooms. So, what is it like

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arriving at this grim and rather foreboding place for the first

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time? It was scary, because I was only a young lad. You sit there,

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and you do not know what to expect. People take things of you. You

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might have to defend yourself. If you are already suffering from

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problems, you do not want more problems on top of that. Gary was

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just 18 when he was transferred to Rampton from a young offenders'

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institution. He was an extremely violent drug user and was initially

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put in seclusion and guarded around the clock. Rampton houses some of

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the country's most notorious killers, including Beverley Allitt,

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the nurse who murdered four children in her care. And solemn

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murder, Ian Handley. But unexpectedly, Gary found some of

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these infamous patients most kind and helpful. I came here and some

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of them took us under their wing, kind of thing. That must have been

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a surprise. It was, yes. Some people have done nasty crimes and

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bad things. But mental illness is a funny thing, it can make you do and

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say things that you would not normally do. The people are not

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nasty in themselves, it is the honest. -- illness. In our short

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time inside Rampton, we saw no outbreaks of violence. But you

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certainly feel the threat of late, and that is something the staff,

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like ward manager Michael Joseph, are aware of. Let us say they have

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an argument with someone, instead of negotiating, they just resort to

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violence. To deal with certain situations. I get letters from some

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patients saying thank you and it is very rewarding when you hear that,

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that is what keeps me in the job. Knowing you are part of a system

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that has helped to improve a person's behaviour. A person who

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was once involved in a life of crime is no longer involved in a

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life of crime. At some stage they go out and contribute to society

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once again. That is not the first time you will hear people talk

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about hope and the prospect of leaving this place. But you have to

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keep reminding yourself that these patients are here because they pose

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a real danger to others and themselves. No more so than here in

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the Peaks ward, the unit for men with severe personality disorders.

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The rooms are sparse, but carefully designed with fittings and

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furniture. Everything is suicide safe. Let's have a look round. Tell

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us about the mattress. The mattress is covered in a material similar to

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what you might find on a bouncy castle. It is designed to resist

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ripping or tearing, heat. The bed base itself, specially designed,

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moulded glass-fibre, designed to withstand damage and attack. But

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also, important to provide a decent and comfortable might's sleep.

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even this peg is important. pressure and it would just bend

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down. Keeping 326 patients takes a lot of staff - nearly 2000 work

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here. And the clocking on shift in the morning is something to behold.

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Everyone has to undergo the same rigorous security check, day-in and

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day-out. The list of prohibited items is long. They will even take

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the chewing gum out of your mouth. But the work here is highly valued,

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even by those who thought they would never be seen dead in a place

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like this. I never envisaged working here. If you have had told

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me I would be working here, I would have laughed. The prospect of

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working with what he thought would be "mad monsters" wasn't very

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attractive, but now, David teaches computer skills on the Peaks ward.

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And amongst these very dangerous men, he has discovered a poet.

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is the latest one you have done? This is through the window. It is

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about searching for identity in someone else that replicates your

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own so you don't feel alone. Life is one of uncertainty. Lost souls

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on research. Behind the glass is curiosity. Patients are waiting for

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an image. An emotional FIFA. -- thief. When you build working

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relationships with these people, you get to see some snippets,

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little moments, of their struggle. And it puts things into context, it

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is very easy to blame the individual for something. But when

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you look far beyond that, there is usually other moments in their life,

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opportunities to stop that developing, which society has

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missed. As you navigate the labyrinth of locked doors and

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corridors in this place, you get used to the sight of single

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patients being escorted by groups of staff. Most prison inmates are

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not guarded this closely. In fact, there are six times more staff to

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patients in Rampton than your average jail. But this is not a

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prison, as they keep telling you, and have been doing so for a long

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time. This is Rampton. Target of intense criticism, the famous

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mental hospital invited us to make a full report. So that the world

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might see for itself. Rampton is not a prison, it is a mental

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hospital. It struck me when I saw it how much what he was talking

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about, I see as problems I have today in terms of how people

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perceive us. But the misconception that this is a prison where the mad

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and bad are banished still persists. Helped, no doubt, by the fact that

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some people have never forgotten a shocking TV expose made more than

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30 years ago. The Secret Hospital revealed brutal treatment of

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patients by staff. We used to kick him between the legs would boots on.

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It was survival. One bloke was literally stamping on his head.

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twisted one side underneath his here and they kept on twisting

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until the patient's face went purple. The film caused a big stir

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and triggered huge changes inside Rampton. It led to a whole change

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in the culture of the way we manage systems of high-security hospitals.

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That is what has led to the real change in the culture and Binnie

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into the 20th and now the 21st century, of the treatment that has

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happened. The hospital has been thoroughly modernised. It now costs

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�100 million a year to run this place, that means over �1,000 a

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week to care for each patient. it was my child in this hospital, I

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would want them to have the very best to treatment and appropriate

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accommodation. And that is the standard I have set myself and set

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And that is what this mother expects too. Every three weeks, she

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makes the long journey from home to visit her son. I have been coming

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here for more than 10 years. It takes three hours to come and go

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home. A very long day. It is a hospital, not a prison. But it is

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daunting to see people walking about with walkie-talkies wherever

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you go and whatever Dot you get into. It has to be unlocked and

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locked. It is frightening and I have not been in situations like

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that at all. For Mary, it all began with a police dawn raid on her home.

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I can still hear the noise of the police breaking down my front door.

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What seemed like 100 people dressed in white suits wandering around

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every conceivable place in at my house looking for what I thought

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was evidence. My son was not aware what he had done. He was in the

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middle of a psychotic episode. that one psychotic episode, Mary's

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son caused terrible loss to three generations of one family. My son

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was portrayed as a monster, a maniac who needed to go to prison

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with the key thrown away. He was my son, my flesh and blood. My life

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was threatened. My house was broken into and my car was damaged. I had

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to leave my house for six months. My neighbour took care of my house

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for me. I had to rely on friends and stare our friends that to this

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day do not know where my son is. are going to talk about

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communication and self-esteem. course, the families of victims

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endure a life sentence of suffering and may well struggle to accept the

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treatment now being offered to those who caused so much hurt.

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do we think Robert feels about himself? A bit frustrated.

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putting his point across very well. Are all patients treated like that?

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I think they are. They might have to live with some aspect of illness

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which cannot be treated like other parts but the challenge is to try

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and make carers and relatives and the individual feel somebody is

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making progress. Light at the end of the tunnel. I was just depressed.

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I could not talk. I was crying and hitting myself. I did not want to

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leave my room. But with psychology and stuff, I have gone through the

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rough to get to the smooth. I have come on massively and my team think

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I have as well. I would not be here without the team. I want to go out

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and live my life. I am a young lad, 23. I have been like this since 14.

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One of the psychiatrists who assessed by son is said to me, one

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a day, you will get your son back. One day, you will see your son

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Hands that day is nearly coming. I love and hope for that date. It is

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important to give hope. Increasingly, we are offering

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messages about recovery, not just in terms of symptoms of illness but

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in terms of getting better life back. Many of the patients are

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brilliant artists. They are skilled in areas where they have not had

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opportunities to work. It is wonderful to see they can produce

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these items. They are pleased with themselves as well. It is something

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Chris has been inside Rampton for over 20 years. He feared it could

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be a lot longer but now art has helped with his recovery and

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chances of moving to a less secure hospital. When are you do a picture

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and you look at it and you think, you have done that. The sense of

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achievement you feel inside of yourself gives a boost to your

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confidence and makes you want to do it more. But the critics of Rampton

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say it's all gone too soft, more like a holiday camp. There's even a

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twenty-metre swimming pool, gym, playing fields and Sky TV with all

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the sports channels. It is certainly not a holiday camp. How

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would you like to live in a ward full of people that have committed

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violent attentive? That is not being on holiday? Not my idea of

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holidays. He would have to come and see it yourself. It is not like

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Butlin's or whatever, like that. There are a lot of people kicking

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off all the time, hurting themselves and start. -- staff.

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patients have their own shop something else that infuriates

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those who liken Rampton to Butlins. But it's hardly a sumptuous

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emporium. What have you got? Confection, clothing, toiletries,

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get so. Magazines and CDs, stationery? Yes. What is the most

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popular? Probably chocolate. used to have cigarettes? But not

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any more. They've just banned protein shakes because some

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patients were bulking up their muscles a little too effectively.

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We can't sell anything shop. Any tins behind the counter with twin-

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cam polls. They cannot pick them up of the shop themselves. Pop history,

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glass, we used to have a glass jars but not any more. -- obviously.

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Behind the counter, it gets handed Most patients get a small allowance

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to spend here, but controversially some get almost a �100 a week

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disability living allowance. One patient at Rampton accumulated more

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than �12,000. I think it would be helpful to the patient to have it

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changed. Some people have too much money. We have problems around

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obesity. Particularly since we stopped smoking in the hospital,

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you have to wonder what money will be spent on. Some people spend it

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on sweets and that does not help the obesity problem. We would be

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much more comfortable if they did Strangely, after a few days here I

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felt I'd met some really good natured men... Gary came here as a

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teenager. Paul the poet and Chris the artist. Then you remind

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yourself that they probably carried out some despicable act of violent

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crime. And I wondered how the staff coped with that. We often deal with

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the offence part towards the end of the treatment process. But you are

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aware? Yes and in fact one of the unusual things about mental health,

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is he must know as much as you can about somebody before sitting down

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with them. It is easier to start without preconceptions most times

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but it is here in the background. Is it hard to divorce yourself

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about the terrible things they might have done? Again, that

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question about terrible things is an assumption. Sometimes terrible

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things have been done to the people that end up with us. Some people

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have had massive trauma and you have to be very professional and

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think, my job is to help this woman to move further romp. We work with

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the distress and we deal different At the women's unit we met Tina

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who's been here eight months. Life with an alcoholic partner pushed

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her over the edge and she turned very violent. She told us how

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they'd helped her. They have listened to me. They have made me

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have medication that I did need to stop my disorder. I am pleased that

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I came here. It has helped me realise what I was like. It has

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stopped me from getting worse. It is building be up to be a complete

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Just a few miles from the hospital is the village of Rampton. And

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tucked away at the back of the churchyard is a collection of

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simple tombstones. They belong to the patients that lived and died at

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the hospital, banished and forgotten. Now the average patient

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stays just eight years and some start a new life. Strolling with me

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outside the perimeter fence is Bill. He excelled at painting and he's

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now studying fine art at university. This is incredible, considering

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what he was like when he first set foot in Rampton. I got arrested for

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stabbing somebody. It was quite a horrific offence. I stabbed him

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quite a number of times and slashed him and head-butted him and hit him

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and put his head through a window. Bill eventually responded well to

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treatment, but at first put up violent resistance. Yes, I am a

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success. Given that I came here with a violent past. You were a

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monster, come on. I would not say a monster. I was angry, but not a

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monster. I was not the best behaved patient that they have ever had.

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But I took what was on the plate for me. What does it feel like to

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be on the outside of this offence? A lot better than inside. It is me

:23:58.:24:02.

satisfaction that I can stand here on the outside looking in this

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place. His placement a lot to me. We have got good staff here. --

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this place meant. But for those on the brink of leaving it can be

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traumatic. You have been here 20 years. What does it feel like to

:24:21.:24:31.
:24:31.:24:33.

read? It will be a bit scary. -- depart? But the pain was strong.

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That fear of leaving is even harder to express if you're deaf. I have

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brought a couple of these pictures and wondered if you could tell me a

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bit about them. There are nine patients on the deaf ward. Paul is

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about to move on after 20 years. is about working together and

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knowing a bit more about him and we hope, he has been here a long time,

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we can move things forward. I am walking up to the edge. I am coming

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up here and somebody says, do not do that and polls be back. There is

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something in the process about wanting to stay, wanting to leave,

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what will it be like? Will he get It is the end of the day and Mary

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begins her long journey back home full of hope that one day her son

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will move on. The emotional strain and the travelling, yes, after 10

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years I do feel it is taking its toll. I am tiring of the journey.

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But I just keep the vision of knowing that one day I am going to

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get my son back. We sometimes say, hate the sin and forget the Senate.

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I hope and pray society can forget. -- sinner. Not surprisingly they're

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pretty big on forgiveness at the hospital chapel, where all faiths

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:26:28.:26:31.

are welcome. I believe that God is able and willing to forgive. I

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appreciate the sentiment of what the mother said. But I recognise

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people that have been wronged against an for them, forgiveness is

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:26:52.:26:55.

difficult. It is often hard to After just a few days here, you

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could believe everything in Rampton's garden is rosy. Even the

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patient's vegetable patch is enjoying a good crop this year.

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This is our horticulture hairier for men. It is a really popular

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activity, as you can imagine. -- area. So before we left this seemed

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like a good place and time to finally question the man who runs

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Rampton, Mike Harris. For all the talk of forgiveness, treatment,

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recovery and moving on, don't the public simply want his patients

:27:34.:27:37.

locked up with the key thrown away? It is an interesting question. It

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is ultimately philosophical. Do we want to treat people due mainly? I

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think the vast majority here have had a bad deal in life. -- with

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humanity? It is terribly common. People in hospitals like this are

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somebody's children, parents, brothers and sisters. I do not know

:28:03.:28:07.

what causes people necessarily to end up here but it could actually

:28:07.:28:12.

happen to any of us and our families. That is why we do not

:28:12.:28:17.

lock them up and throw away a key. By treating them with humanity, you

:28:17.:28:27.

will get them to behave in Really makes you think, doesn't it?

:28:27.:28:30.

Our thanks to all those at Rampton for helping us open the door on a

:28:31.:28:35.

world that's hardly ever been seen. Good night. Next week we have a

:28:35.:28:39.

police special. How can they cut crime when their budget is being

:28:39.:28:47.

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