Rampton Secure Hospital - History

History

Rampton Hospital opened in 1912 as an overflow facility for Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. The grounds occupy a former large common known as "Rampton Field".

Housing for the staff was built mostly in the 1920s and 1930s. There were several football fields, a rugby football pitch, a cricket field, shop, staff club/pub, disco, library, tennis courts, free indoor heated swimming pool, bowls club. All of this was built for the staff; the housing was rented and only available for the staff. Staff had to leave the houses when they retired. This ended in the 1980s, and residents were allowed to stay on in the houses after retirement. In the 1990s staff were given the right to buy their houses from the Crown. Houses were then bought at a discounted rate depending on how long the resident had worked at Rampton: the longer, the cheaper the house was to buy. This staff housing area is or was called Woodbeck (to be distinguished from a nearby village called Woodbeck).

On 22 May 1979, Yorkshire Television broadcast an exposé programme titled "Rampton, The Secret Hospital", showing the routinely severe mistreatment of Rampton patients by staff. A groundbreaking look inside the hitherto secret world of a 'special hospital' it has been cited in a "top ten" of television programmes which occasioned intense public debate and engendered far-reaching effects upon its subject area, and it got an International Emmy.

A follow-up television broadcast a few weeks later reported that its immediate effect within the hospital had so far amounted to a few scapegoat prosecutions while the status quo had continued largely as before, except that no staff member could trust another not to be a whistle-blower.

However, through the next 20 years, reforms to mental health service provision and the philosophy of care within institutions led to a more openly-scrutinized environment and patient care became subject to higher expectation and more rigorous inspection.

In the 1960s and 70s the Woodbeck estate was maintained by gangs of patients who worked with staff to look after cutting grass, trimming hedges and other gardening. The staff club saw performances by famous singers and comedians. In 1977 a party was held to celebrate the Queen's silver jubilee.

Further housing, known as Kellor Court, was built around 1980 but proved unsuccessful due to poor quality and was demolished around 2000. The 1980s also saw houses demolished in Woodbeck to make way for staff car parks, and open ground between the entry gate and the nearest hospital buildings was built over with an additional housing estate for staff.

From around 1985 to 2000, various changes affected staff, for example uniforms were abolished and staff lost some of their amenities and social clubs such as the shoppost office, swimming pool, sports day gala, pub, disco, video/film club, cricket pitch, bowling green and club. Woodbeck consists now of a few houses privately owned and some still rented. A creche was built for childcare. Around the estate are many carparks and grassy areas with old apple and pear trees; these are all that remain of the gardens of the 1920s houses that the staff vacated in the 1980s for demolition.

In February 2000, Rampton Hospital was awarded a Charter Mark award. This government scheme was designed to both reward excellence and encourage constant quality improvement. It is focused on the quality of service provided to users; in Rampton Hospital this included not only patients but also visitors and the general public.

The "special hospitals" of Broadmoor, Rampton, and Ashworth were formerly administered directly by the Home Office and thus outside the National Health Service (NHS). In April 2001, Rampton Hospital became part of the new Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. The Trust provides mental health and learning disability services including:

• Community forensic service to Nottinghamshire
• Medium-secure services provided by Arnold Lodge and Wathwood Hospital to patients from the Trent region
• A high-security service at Rampton Hospital for all NHS regions

In May 2008, a group of patients lost their High Court battle seeking to overturn the rule banning patients from smoking within the hospital.

Major developments at Rampton Hospital recently include the David Wilson Unit, for National High Secure Learning Disability Services. A new training building named the Mike Harris Centre has been constructed, named after the consultant forensic psychiatrist who leads the forensic division of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Rampton celebrated its centenary in 2012 with the installation of decorative "100 years" flowerbeds and exhibitions describing the history of the hospital with "then and now" photographs.