Britain's Most Notorious Psychiatric Hospital (Prison Documentary) | Real Stories

[Solemn music plays, noises of nature in

background]

Narrator: Broadmoor, a word that makes people shiver.

Most think that Broadmoor is a prison,

in fact it's a high secure psychiatric hospital,

and home to some of the countries most

dangerous and violent offenders.

[Gate unlocking, mechanical noises]

After five years of negotiation, and for the

very first time, the hospital has allowed

cameras in to meet the men who live behind

these walls.

[unintelligible yelling, sound of something slamming]

[Running foot steps keys jangling]

[more yelling and sounds of a struggle]

[door slams]

[foot steps echo in the hallway]

Inmate: Broadmoores got this, this history

about people being all these monsters here basically.

But you can be violent, and it don't mean you're

a bad person.

'Cause sometimes

you don't....you're not intendin' it.

Over radio: "Hello Brovo one, two, and go.

Over radio: "One going to the

[ unintelligible] all radio. Alpha four.

Over."

The easiest reaction in the world is to

see somebody that has committed something

atrocious, label them as evil, want to

lock the door and throw away the key.

Inmate: "I've probably actually never said

the words of what I've I actually done.

I've never admitted it. Still just a blur

in my head".

[knocking on door]

Inmate 2: "I've got born into this Italian

family. Very, very violent. In some cases

it would have been better to have killed

me than to have allowed me to have this

horrible life that I've had.

Narrator: With unprecedented access, and

filmed over a year, this series reveals

the secrets of life inside Brittians most

notorious institution.

[Bell rings]

[Solemn music]

Narrator: Broadmoor is perched above the

Berkshire village of Crowthorne. Just 40

miles from the center of London.

When people think of Broadmoore they think of

Ronny Kray, Peter Sutcliffe, Robert

Napper, and Kenneth Erskine. Some of the

most dangerous killers the country has

ever known.

"The public perceive this place as 'oh,

that's where the Yorkshire Rippers locked

up, that's Rachel Nickell's killers locked

up'. Broadmoor is an institution of lots of

people. We're not all rapist pedophiles,

or murderers. There is people in here for

self-harming in prison, there's people in

here for buggary and they've gotten in a prison,

and there's people in here for very very

evil things.

and it brushes with all the same brush

what station [unintelligible]".

[loud string crescendo]

Narrator: First built as a victorian

lunatic asylum for the criminally insane,

today Broadmoor is an NHS hospital.

Over its 150 year history, its been a secretive

and mysterious institution.

Staff are under strict instructions not to

discuss patients outside the hospital walls.

[clicking as items are placed on conveyer

and beeping of machinery]

Many won't even admit to working here.

Staff Member: " Close, close family

members know that, obviously, where we

work. But if we're in a normal mainstream

than you would, you would probably say you

work in the hospital or something. Don't

really talk about the place."

Staff Member #2: " Listen, if you said

that you worked here. Ah, boy. You'd just

spend the whole of a day, or the

afternoon, with a barrage of questions about the place.

So, it's just easy to say you work for the

NHS".

Narrator: They're told not to share

personal information with the patients

either, and to leave their private lives

along with their possessions. At the front door.

Broadmoor's most notorious patients,

like Peter Sutcliffe and Kenneth Erskine,

have chosen not to participate.

But many of the men here have been front

page news and are vilified by society.

This is the first time they've been

allowed to tell their stories.

Alex: I've everything from taking

hostages, more hostage taking, stabbings,

ya' know. Uhhhh... more assaults, violent

assaults, fire setting off. I set a whole

stammers a fire in a hospital. A

psychiatric hospital, the first one I

ever went to. Umm.. yeah. Just mainly

violence and whatnot. My history is mainly

violence".

Narrator: "Broadmoors 200 patients are all

men suffering from mental disorders.

They're classified as vulnerable adults

and only those who have Capacity to

Give Consent have been allowed to talk to

us.

Their faces have been blurred to

protect their identities

[Door closing]

Female voice: "What are you like when

you're not on medication?"

Alex: "Ummm...I'm quite a nasty

person. I'm quite violent, I'm very

violent in most circumstances. Very

antisocial. I don't like spending time

with people. I'm paranoid. I'm, uh, very

paranoid. [stammers] Every person around,

I'm thinking 'what's their intention?' I

come to that, sometimes I come very close

to attacking people because I'm thinking

that they're going to do something to me

and I don't want to get hurt first. Uh,

um..I remember one time when I'm off

medication, spent 11 months locked in a

cell. Segregated, due to the fact that I

was too dangerous to come out".

Narrator: 24 year old Alex arrived at

Broadmoor 7 months ago. He was serving a

life sentence in a dedicated prison unit

for highly dangerous prisoners.

They could no longer manage him.

Alex: "When I was younger, we would

chase a seagull... trails off

Narrator: Now in a remissions ward he's

been diagnosed with mental illness and

personality disorder and put on

medication.

One of his symptoms is Auditory Hallucinations.

He hears voices.

Alex: "Oh, I was doing a fruit salad

the other day for an assessment. That's

when they do this assessment from

personal motor, motor skills.

It's like for learning disability.

And....Umm...

I was cutting a mango

and I have never, I've never used a sharp knife.

In the seven years I've been away

I've not used a sharp knife

and I was shaking. Literally.

I nearly cut my fingers off cause'

the voices were telling me to attack the

people in the room, with the knife.

And, like, they were goading me into it,

and I thought ' I can't do that.

I can't do that.

and so I managed to finish fruit, the

fruit salad, and I thought " wow like, what

achievement'. Cause' mostly stammers a

year ago, two years ago, my emotions

would have done it.

Ya know?"

[unintelligible speaking]

Man in Sweater: "No. We'll clean it

afterwards. We are Going to give you

bedding for now, okay"?

Narrator: This is Cranfield, the

intensive care ward. Home to the hospitals

most acute mentally ill patients.

[door shutting, keys jangling, people

speaking unintelligibly]

Female voice: "Hi, can we come in and

talk to you, yeah?"

Man in Sweater: "Sit on the bed for us"

Narrator:Any contact with them has to be

carefully planned and executed.

This is a six person unlock.

The door to this patients room can only be

opened with six staff present.

Hospital Staff: "There is always the risk

of violence towards others if

[can't understand] with chronic mental

illness and they will be very distant

throughout the day, but you have to

learn to work with that.

[person sobbing]

My focus in working with this guys is

after telling me that they are here

not because of the illness, they

are here because of violence.

And they only progress from here

if there's a reduction in that violence.

So that message, you know.

It might take time, but gradually

over a period of time, is that

goal through".

[keys jangling, unintelligible talking in background]

Narrator: On this ward, even the most

routine tasks, run a risk of violence and

involve a protocol.

This patient has asked for a drink.

Man in White: "Just keep on the bed trails off

[unintelligible]

Shukran. Shukran

Shukran means thank you, right?

You know, you taught me all this.

laughs

[unintelligible speaking]"

Inmate: [unintelligible] "give me some more?'

Man in White: [unintelligible response]

"Thank you!"

Female voice: "Thank you guys."

Narrator: Life in Broadmoor can be a game

of snakes and ladders.

With patients moving between the hospitals

15 wards according to their

mental state.

[door closing]

Patients who have responded to treatment

can progress to one of the hospitals

Assertive Rehab Wards, where

they're given greater freedom.

Daniel is one of 12 patients on this

ward.

Daniel: "I've been here five years.

Luckily I never went to a high dependency

ward, I came straight to rehab.

And, to be honest, its been...

I wouldn't use the word wonderful...

Cause' eh... it's not wonderful.

But, I've been grateful basically

to come here.

In my spare time I try and engage

in artwork mostly.

This was the, uh... my first real attempt

at an actual portrait. All done completely

in graphite, and then I moved on to using

charcoal along with, uh.. graphite.

And the charcoal allows you to, to have

so much more...uhhh...depth in the tone or

quality.

And then, yeah....I did a self-portrait.

The whole, The whole picture was a

statement about when I got locked up,

when I was 14 and I'm now 24.

This is me at 24, but uh, that me.....

back then...sort of thing...."

Narrator: Mental Disorder is no respecter

of class or education.