Conserving the records of specialist psychiatric treatment at Bethlem and the Maudsley hospitals, 1964-1987

Bethlem Hospital has been devoted to the care of people with mental illnesses since at least the start of the 14th century. Its sister hospital, the Maudsley, has been at the forefront of psychiatric research in Britain since the 1920s. Previous projects have rescued series of patients’ psychiatric discharge summaries from damp conditions. This project concerned records dated between 1968 and 1987. They were inaccessible to researchers and at risk of degrading over time. Conservation has ensured the long-term availability of a rounded picture of treatment options in the late 20th century.