A study was conducted of 142 admissions to Stockton Hall Hospital, a private hospital offering medium secure psychiatric treatment. The study examines the characteristics of patients admitted to Stockton Hall Hospital in comparison with patients admitted to National Health Service secure psychiatric facilities. Stockton Hall Hospital demonstrated an increased flexibility as to the types of patients it was prepared to accept, particularly relating to difficult and non-offender patients. There is discussion of how the private sector may be meeting a national need, resulting from the inadequacies within the National Health Service, for psychiatric patients requiring treatment in conditions of security.
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