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Throughout its long history , the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London , colloquially
known as Bedlam , has been the center of rumors of patient abuse and neglect . These
rumors continue to permeate the history of madness even though recent studies have
tried to depict Bethlem as a misunderstood institution which did the best it could . The
truth lies somewhere between these two poles . Historical Bethlem was a place where the
insane were indeed mistreated , and 1642 and 1658 were the years when abuse became
the norm for centuries to come . The years of the Civil War and Interregnum were of
special importance to Bethlem , marking the point when it became not only a hospital
with an undeclared policy for the tolerance of patient abuse and neglect , but a financially
solvent hospital as well . After the careful examination of the administrative records of
the Bethlem Court of Governors for the years 1642 -1659 , this study reports that not only
did abuse occur in Bethlem , but that the administration at the hospital , its Court of
Governors , was aware of such abuse and preferred to turn a blind eye to patient abuse
and neglect , occasionally becoming party to such offenses themselves if the price was
right . |
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