History
Wish is a national charity that was founded in 1987 by Prue Stevenson, Terri Simpson and Kimberley Andrews. At the time, Prue was working in the Education Department at HMP Holloway in London. She became concerned about the high number of women whose mental health deteriorated to such an extent that they were transferred to the High Secure Hospitals, then known as Special Hospitals (Broadmoor Hospital, Rampton Secure Hospital and Ashworth Hospital). Terri and Kim were former patients who had spent many years in High Secure hospitals. Female patients in these hospitals were often subjected to appalling and degrading conditions, and many didn't require such a high level of security. The three women got together to form Wish with the aim of supporting women still in Special Hospitals and prison psychiatric units, and to campaign to change policy and attitudes.
The charity was originally called Women in Special Hospitals and Prison Psychiatric Units. This was later shortened to Women in Secure Hospitals as the charity moved towards supporting women in medium and low secure units as well as the three High Secure Hospitals. In 2008 following a consultation with members, the charity changed its name to Wish, with the tagline A voice for women's mental health to reflect its status as the only national organisation for women's mental health and its increasing work with women in the community.
The first office was based in London, initially serving Broadmoor and HMP Holloway, and over time branches were set up in the Midlands to serve Rampton and in the North to serve Ashworth. The women's services at Ashworth and Broadmoor have since closed, resulting in more women being moved to lower, more appropriate, levels of security. Wish's work to emphasise the importance of gender and the different needs of women contributed to the Department of Health strategy for women's mental health, titled Into the Mainstream.
Today, Wish works with women at all levels of security, as well as in prisons and in the community. Over two decades after it was founded, Wish is now returning to its campaigning roots, as well as continuing to provide independent advocacy and emotional support to women with mental health needs in secure settings and in the community.
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, and mental health units, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialize only in short term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients. Others may specialize in the temporary or permanent care of residents who, as a result of a psychological disorder, require routine assistance, treatment, or a specialized and controlled environment. Patients are often admitted on a voluntary basis, but people whom psychiatrists believe may pose a significant danger to themselves or others may be subject to involuntary commitment and involuntary treatment. Psychiatric hospitals may also be referred to as psychiatric wards or units when they are a subunit of a regular hospital.
HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016.
Graham Frederick Young best known as the Teacup Poisoner and later the St. Albans Poisoner, was an English serial killer who used poison to kill his victims.
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire. The hospital's catchment area consists of four National Health Service regions: London, Eastern, South East and South West. It is managed by the West London NHS Trust.
Rampton Secure Hospital is a high security psychiatric hospital near the village of Woodbeck between Retford and Rampton in Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of only three high security psychiatric hospitals in England, alongside Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside and Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. It is managed by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Ashworth Hospital For The Criminally Insane is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Liverpool. It operates on behalf of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, catering to patients with psychiatric health needs that require treatment in conditions of high security. It is one of only three high security psychiatric hospitals in England, alongside Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire and Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions.
Spurgeons is a large national children's charity in the United Kingdom, working with vulnerable families, children and young people. It is based in Rushden, with several offices in the UK, and is a registered charity.
In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Every adult in prison is assigned a different category, all depending on the crime they committed, the sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The higher the category, the worse the convictions are.
Forensic social work is the application of social work to questions and issues relating to law and legal systems. This specialty of the social work profession goes far beyond clinics and psychiatric hospitals for criminal defendants being evaluated and treated on issues of competency and responsibility. A broader definition includes social work practice which in any way is related to legal issues and litigation, both criminal and civil. Child custody issues, involving separation, divorce, neglect, termination of parental rights, the implications of child and spousal abuse, juvenile and adult justice services, corrections, and mandated treatment all fall under this definition. Forensic social worker may also be involved in policy or legislative development intended to improve social justice.
West London NHS Trust is an NHS trust which provides mental and physical health services to the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Hounslow. It also provides some services on a national basis, including forensic and high-security services.
The Special Hospitals Service Authority was a special health authority of the National Health Service in England from 1989 to 1996. It had responsibility for managing the three high security "special" psychiatric hospitals in England: Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton.
HM Prison Chelmsford is a Category B men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.
Kevin Joseph Michael Gournay CBE FMedSci FRCN FRSM FRCPsych (Hon) PhD RN CSci Cert CBT is a registered psychologist, chartered scientist and a registered nurse by background. He is an emeritus professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He was a consultant psychologist at the Priory Hospital North London; retiring in December 2018. He has now returned to clinical work as part of the response to COVID19. He is currently an Honorary Professor at the Matilda Centre; University of Sydney., where his work focusses on the combination of mental health problems and substance use. He has been responsible over many years for a very wide range of research, policy and practice development in mental health care. He also works as an Expert Witness; he has provided reports on more than 250 suicides; 20 homicides and hundreds of reports on people who have suffered the consequences of traumatic events, including accidents, terrorist related incidents, natural disasters, war related events and stillbirth and perinatal death. He has also provided numerous reports on patients receiving care and treatment in high secure and Medium secure settings, including Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth hospitals
The Clink Restaurant concept was founded by Alberto Crisci in 2009 and are a major part of The Clink Charity's prisoner rehabilitation initiatives. The charity aims to break the cycle of crime by changing attitudes, creating second chances and reducing reoffending rates.
AH vs West London Mental Health Trust was a landmark case in England, which established a legal precedent in 2011 when Albert Laszlo Haines (AH), a patient in Broadmoor Hospital, a high security psychiatric hospital, was able to exercise a right to a fully open and public mental health review tribunal to hear his appeal for release. The case and the legal principles it affirmed have been described as opening up the secret world of tribunals and National Health Service secure units, and as having substantial ramifications for mental health professionals and solicitors, though how frequently patients will be willing or able to exercise the right is not yet clear.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, based in Nottinghamshire, England, manages the high security Rampton Hospital near Retford, two medium secure units, Arnold Lodge in Leicester and Wathwood Hospital in Rotherham, and a low Secure Unit, Wells Road Centre at Mapperley in Nottingham.
The Central Mental Hospital is a mental health facility housing forensic patients in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. The hospital, along with a community day centre for out patients at Usher's Island, forms part of the National Forensic Mental Health Service.
People in prison are more likely than the general United States population to have received a mental disorder diagnosis, and women in prison have higher rates of mental illness and mental health treatment than do men in prison. Furthermore, women in prisons are three times more likely than the general population to report poor physical and mental health. Women are the fastest growing demographic of the United States prison population. As of 2010 there were over 110,000 women incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the United States and women comprised roughly 7% of all inmates in the United States.
Woodbeck is a village within the Rampton and Woodbeck civil parish of the Bassetlaw district, within the county of Nottinghamshire, England. The overall area had a population of 1,139 at the 2011 census. The village lies in the north east of the county. It is 125 miles north west of London, 27 miles north east of the city of Nottingham, and 5 miles south east of the town of Retford. It is the site of Rampton Secure Hospital, which is one of only three high security psychiatric hospitals in England.
