Forum Topic

Care in the Community

I read that Jonty Bravery has been jailed for a minimum of 15 years for throwing the little boy off the viewing gallery at Tate Modern.  Rightly so, in my opinion. I believe the care in the community system is not working for some people and that we should be building new psychiatric homes/hospitals rather than closing them down and expecting people who are ill to manage in their homes with Carers. If Jonty Bravery had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital rather than giving him around the clock care in his home, they might have been able to give him proper assessment and adjust his medication or offer him medication accordingly.

Martine Guy ● 2111d17 Comments

I can remember when some places, e.g. St Bernard's Hospital In Hanwell, were called lunatic asylums. The partner of a good friend worked there for many years and I was really shocked when he told me that some patients were more heavily sedated at full moon because it affected their mood and made them dangerous.  This was 30+ years ago so I hope this method of 'treatment' is no longer practised. In relation to Broadmoor, I wonder what the differences are between a person being judged to be criminally insane, or just plain evil?

Sue Hammond ● 2110d

We all know that Care in the Community, brought in by Margaret Thatcher, has been somewhat of a disaster.  Good idea, but the "care" was very underfunded and many psychiatric patients have gone on to murder people, kill themselves and generally cause mayhem in the community.  Not all of course, and many have gone on to have good lives in decent accommodation with appropriate support.My ex-brother-in-law worked for a while at Broadmoor as a nurse/guard, because that's what they are.  Broadmoor is for the criminally insane, which means they have to have committed a serious crime to go there.  Very scary place, I don't think he was ever the same afterwards.But while we all disagreed with the old "asylums"  where people were locked away for ever without much help, I do believe we should have more in house facilities where people can go to get help, relax and have some calm and work to have a better life.I've said it here before on a different post, but it we're going to take in refugees from war torn areas of the world, people who may have been exposed to the most awful things we could ever imaging, I think there should be places like this for them too, to work through their traumas.  Otherwise we just keep getting "terrorists" and people with mental problems.  Don't forget, Nelson Mandela was once branded a terrorist.

Bunny Payne ● 2111d

100% agree Martine

Lucille Grant ● 2111d

I know Lucille, I understand. If Jonty Bravery had been given the correct treatment, and by that I mean a lengthier stay in a psychiatric hospital, I think it might have prevented the tragedy that happened.  There is too much haste to discharge people before they are ready to go back into the community.

Martine Guy ● 2111d

I only called it a mental hospital because when my mother attended Atkinson Morley in the 70s that's what it was known as as far as I remember. She was an impatient at another one in Victoria which I think subsequently closed too.

Lucille Grant ● 2111d

My mother was an inpatient at Springfield last year.  I thought her ward would have more elderly patients than it did.  It was definitely not as nice as Barnes Hospital.  She was punched in the face by another patient.  Mum was 89 at the time.  It would seem that locally it’s Springfield or nothing. What happened to the patients at Barnes Hospital?  It is a national disgrace that a specialist psychiatric hospital such as this should be closed.  It was a lovely site.

Martine Guy ● 2111d

Yes Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon was a neurological hospital and moved to St George's in Tooting in 2003. Springfield is a  psychiatric hospital. I think that people with psychpathic illnesses are often sent to Broadmoor.

Jane Carter ● 2111d

Lucille, our posts crossed, I agree with what you say (except for the term mental hospital).

Martine Guy ● 2111d

Sorry, but this brings me back to Care in the Community.  It would seem however mentally ill someone might be, the cure seems to be put them back into their own home with visiting carers rather than treat them properly for their mental illness in a psychiatric hospital. Yesterday I looked on Google to see what had happened to Barnes Hospital.  It was the hospital for older people with mental health problems.  From what I could find, Richmond Council wanted to sell off the site for housing and I wasn’t sure if they had done so.  My mother was an inpatient on a couple of occasions.  After Barnes Hospital closed, I met with pretty much a blank wall with getting help, when what my mum needed was inpatient treatment.  It is a disgrace.  Care in the Community cannot solve every mental health problem.  We need new psychiatric hospitals for inpatient treatment by professionals who carry out a ward round everyday.  Assessment by carers in the home is not acceptable.

Martine Guy ● 2111d

Presumably he was given tests at the time and not deemed to be a psychopath. Care in the Community has always been a misnomer and in far too many cases a failure. The NHS closed mental hospitals like Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon in 2003 and beds in psychiatric wards in hospitals are nowhere near sufficient to treat the mentally ill in our society.

Lucille Grant ● 2111d

When I searched on Google for more details, I found this in The Sun, 7th Feb 2020.  Jonty Bravery was Sectioned Under The Mental Health Act into a psychiatric unit when he was 16. After 6 weeks, he was sent to live in a flat in Northolt with round the clock Carers. He Is from South West London, Parsons Green and under the care of Hammersmith & Fulham. It is an utterly depressing case and in my opinion 6 weeks in a psychiatric unit was nowhere enough to give him the correct assessment and treatment.  What is a psychiatric unit?  A hospital?  How do they know he isn’t a psychopath?

Martine Guy ● 2111d

Jonathan, I agree with you entirely. How depressing. Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2111d

I am surprised in a way how this terrible case has been dealt with. He clearly has serious mental health issues and mainstream prison will do nothing other than keep him out of circulation. There should be a secure psychiatric unit where he can be held and treatments attempted. Obviously he has to be kept away from the public and he may indeed never be released. I agree that this is yet another indictment of the care system but serious reform is not a high political priority and probably hasn’t been for many years despite all the rhetoric.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2111d

He will not be treated as a normal prisoner.  He will be in a medical psychiatric wing.  What do you think should happen to him?

Sue Hammond ● 2111d

I agree that we need to look at the system. Is prison really the best place to put this seriously ill boy? I think not.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2111d

I agree, Sue.  
I couldn’t find anywhere if he had ever been in a patient in a psychiatric hospital.  If so, how long and what was the diagnosis?  Why was he given 24hour care in his home?  If he was threatening violence, why wasn’t he being assessed in hospital rather than leaving him in his own home where he was violent to his carers. Care in the Community isn’t working for some people and we need a new look at the system.

Martine Guy ● 2111d

Care in the community has not been a success.  I just heard about Bravery's sentence on the radio and it was said that he may never be released from prison.  However I wouldn't hold my breath over that.  Bravery obviously has serious mental health issues but he had enough mental capacity to plan the attack, and even spoke about it to his career before he executed his plan.  He is a very dangerous psychopath who should never be released back into the community.

Sue Hammond ● 2111d