This free evening of emotive talks brings together decades of research by Drs. Frank Crompton and Mark Gallagher, and the personal history of Ken Crump RMN, who nursed patients at Powick Mental Hospital until its final closure in 1988.
Doors open at 5:00pm with talks starting promptly at 5:30pm. See agenda below.
George Marshall Medical Museum will be open throughout for those wishing to dip in and out of talks. Please note out of respect for the speakers and other attendees, we expect all of those wishing to duck out of particular sessions to sit at the back of the lecture theatre to avoid too much disruption.
Travel information
The last bus X38/38 bus should run from Worcestershire Royal Hospital to Worcester Bus Station at 20:15pm. We expect the last talk to finish by 8:00pm, with plenty of time to walk to the bus stop (those travelling by bus should leave before Q&A starts).
Cycle racks are available at the back of the education centre.
Charles Hastings Education Centre has its own car park which will be open for the evening. We cannot guarantee there will be spaces for all. Paid parking spots are available at the main hospital, a short walk from the education centre.
Free event
George Marshall Medical Museum is part of the Charles Hastings Education Centre, on the site of Worcestershire Royal Hospital. We are an educational charity #107473. To help us keep the lights on and run more events like this please consider donating a small sum during the evening. There is a donations box in the museum.
17:00 - 17:20 Doors open
17:30 - 17:50 The County Lunatic Asylums Act of 1845: A new beginning A brief but full summary of the beginnings of an asylum in Worcestershire. By Dr. Frank Crompton
17:50 - 18:30 Sixty-seven years of positive growth, under four Charismatic Medical Superintendents; followed by 'The Dead Hand of Fentonism', by Dr. Frank Crompton.
18:30 - 19:00 Comfort break
19:00 - 19:30 The Birth of the LSD Clinic: Putting Post-War Powick in Global Context Currently there is a ‘psychedelic renaissance’ underway. Once again, medics and scientists are probing the effects and clinical applications of compounds such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Yet, the story of the birth of the LSD clinic in the U.K. over 70 years ago is still shrouded in mystery. In this 80th anniversary year of the discovery of LSD’s profound mind-altering effects, Dr. Mark Gallagher will explore the key part that Powick Hospital played in launching LSD on the global stage and why, paradoxically, its paradigmatic role in the emergence of LSD psychotherapy went under the radar.
19:30 - 20:00 Remembering Powick Hospital A rare chance to view Ken Crump’s RMN personal photographic archive of his time as a Mental Nurse at Powick Hospital before it finally closed in 1988. Take a visual tour with Ken around the grounds and inside the buildings and wards. Images © Ken Crump
20:00 - 20:30 Q&A
Tickets available via Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/evening-of-talks-redressing-the-balance-powick-mental-hospital-1852-1978-tickets-618942512717