Hartwood Hospital was in its heyday the largest mental hospital in Scotland

Hartwood Hospital was in its heyday the largest mental hospital in Scotland
In the beginning …	Between 1772 and 1857, seven asylums were erected in Scotland – all with Royal Charters. They were, in the main, situated relatively near large towns and were governed by Local Boards of Management. In 1857, the Scottish Lunacy Act was passed, which made provision for general supervision of the insane under a General Board of Control to see that these hospitals were provided and paid for out of local rates.
		The first Mental Hospital to be opened in this area by the newly formed Lanarkshire Lunacy Board was at LIQUO, (Pronounced Leeky) near Bowhousebog. This hospital opened as an annexe to KIRKLANDS MENTAL HOSPITAL, Bothwell and accommodated 40 patients.
HARTWOOD HOSPITAL ITSELF In January 1890 building began. The official opening was on 20 May 1895 – accommodating initially 500 patients in 3 female and 3 male wards with a female and male official block, kitchen and dining hall. COST Hospital buildings, including private branch railway, electric lighting, medical superintendent’s house (picture) and 27 cottage-type houses for staff, cost somewhere in the region of £152,430.		Patient transport waggon

PHYSICIAN SUPERINTENDENT DR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL CLARK (picture) was the first doctor to hold this post. He was a forward thinking man, indeed a doyen of psychiatry in those far off days (he actually gave a lecture in Chicago in the late 1890s).		He was the first psychiatrist in the country to realise that, if he were to offer any treatment other than custodial care, he would need nursing staff with training and insight into the many facets of mental illness - prior to this no formal training had been given. Lectures were in accordance with the syllabus laid down by the Royal Psychological Association (RMPA)
	It can be said with pride that Hartwood Hospital was most probably the birth-place of Industrial, Recreational and Occupational Therapies, so much so that the use of drugs etc could be decreased.
SPORTS DAY was an annual highlight in the early days and many sports both in and out door helped in patients’ recovery. Sports included football, tennis, croquet, bowling and even a mini golf course.		DINING HALL In the early days dining arrangements were unique – 4 patients to a table, 2 ladies and 2 gents with one lady acting as “house mother”. The table would be laid in pristine white linen tablecloth, fashionable crockery and cutlery and woe betide anyone displaying slovenly table manners.

EARLY SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (NURSING STAFF) Average house per week – 84 (unpaid overtime could be worked perhaps resulting in a total of 90 hours per week). Salary - £33 per year for males £17 per year for females. However, these were at the time in parity higher than in the industrial field.
	1901 In this year the resident population of the hospital was around the 800 mark and increasing. The increase was small overall as the discharge rate was high at around 48% with the death rate at around 6% Staffs were:- 28 males and 5 females on night duty doing 12 hour shifts. Ratio 1 nurse to 10 patients. The 5 female nurses worked exclusively on the “hospital/bed” ward. For many years following this, male nurses worked exclusively on male wards.

People considered insane were quickly removed from society and shut away behind locked doors. Once there, there was little hope of release as not only were the hospital doors locked but the doors of society also – it was a case of “out of sight out of mind”.
	1902 In this year DR NEIL KERR was appointed Medical Superintendent – having previously been Senior Medical Assistant, he was no stranger to the mains of procedures laid down by Dr. Clark. In 1904 two new dining rooms for male and female staff were opened – prior to this staff dined with patients in the main dining hall. This gave the staff a feeling of being “off duty” – remember 12-hour shifts were the rule of the day at this time. ADMISSION WARDS then were wards 1 and 6 (formerly known as the hospital wards).
Although in the early days the admission rate rose steadily, the discharge rate was also high at 45.2%. High admission rate was reputedly due to the general increase in population in Lanarkshire with the growth of industry
HOME FARM In 1897 the Home Farm was taken over by the hospital authorities. A “squad” of patients worked there and were housed there involved in farm work. It was a very well kept farm.
	BOWLING GREEN In 1897 too the Patients’ Bowling Green was laid down. In the 1950’s another bowling green was laid down at the Nurses’ Home but this was never a success (this was known as the Staff Bowling Green).

TEACHING

Teaching was organised and given by Dr Clark and his assistants, Dr Bois and Dr. Neil Kerr. 12 lectures and 12 demonstrations allowed one to sit the exam by the RMPA.

TAKE IN exam paper of 1935 and diploma

The Royal Medico-Psychological Association lasted until 1948.

By 1906 the highest number of residents in any one-year was 916 and the lowest 861.

Features and articles (not all these articles below are prepared yet so please use the arrows above to navigate these pages)
A quick History of Hartwood Hospital		Political History	Founding of Hartwood	Early Progress and Development	Mental Health Care
Advances in Treatment	Living and Working in Hartwood	The 'Hill' Hospital	Hospital Community	N.H.S Mental Healthcare	1895-1995 The End of an Era
Contemporary Issues	Appendices	Bibliography	Graveyard