The Locked Ward

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.


An extraordinary account of a nurse's life behind the locked doors of a secure psychiatric ward.

Dennis O'Donnell started work as an orderly in the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit of a large hospital in Scotland in 2000. In his daily life he encountered fear, violence and despair but also a considerable amount of care and compassion. Recounting the stories of the patients he worked with, and those of his colleagues on the ward, here he examines major mental health conditions, methods of treatment - medication, how religion, sex, wealth, health and drugs can bear influence on mental health, the prevailing attitudes to psychiatric illness, the authorities, the professionals & society.

What emerges is a document of humanity and humour, a remarkable memoir that sheds light on a world that still remains largely unknown.

'This is a superb study of people whose minds have gone wrong, and the art of caring for them' Evening Standard


© Dennis O'Donnell 2012 (P) Penguin Audio 2012

Critics Review

  • I really enjoyed The Locked Ward. He is compassionate without any taint of sentimentality, and the way he uses language is so elastic. It’s like he’s the most brilliant court-jester in the most colourful of courts. Bravo to him!

    Gabriel Weston, author of Direct Red

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