Out of Sight, not Out of Mind

THE PROBLEMS
“They were very institutionalised and I felt
very sorry for the residents there. They
lived on long wards. They didn’t have private
facilities at all. They had a very thin metal
locker and nowhere to put ornaments or
private possessions. I think it was a very
miserable place to be.” SHEILA CLARKE
of life IN AN INSTITUTION
“They gave me cold showers.
In the winter.
They cooked nasty food and
it used to make me sick.
They used to take my toys
off me because they said it
was childish.”
MICHAEL SMITH
“The priority was that they were fed, clean,
dressed in institutional clothes and they were
safe. There was no personal care; it was all
routine.
You had 30 residents who had to be over at
the workshops for 9 o’clock. It was a bit of a
production line. For breakfast, everyone got
tea, probably with sugar, no choice at all. You
ended up taking short cuts, because you had a
time schedule.” SARAH BARNES
“I wanted to live in my
own place, so I got out the
window and ran off along
the canal. After that, they
put me in a side room, like
a cell with just blankets on
the floor. When I ran away,
I did more time in there.
First time one week, then
two weeks or maybe three
weeks.”
ROLAND CLEWLEY