Dr Hills Casebook - blog 6

The sixth instalment of Robert Fairclough’s blog about the Change Minds project which unites history, mental health, creative writing and theatre.

 I’ve been out of the loop for a few weeks, so it was good to back joining in with our online meetings.

 Laura Drysdale, director of the Restoration Trust, stood in this week for co-ordinator Darren France. Dr. Hill’s Casebook is one of the projects that the Restoration Trust runs, so discussion ranged a bit more widely this time. There was discussion of a visit to the Roman town of Caistor St. Edmond, the prospective site of a project similar to the Burgh Castle Almanac, which successfully ran for over two years. The general consensus seemed to be that Caistor would be an ideal place to establish a new group.

 Among the members of the Casebook, numbers were down this week and the mood was initially a bit muted; Vicky and Tess didn’t have access to the internet, Gail’s son Richard was absent, and Phil was tired after a lot of walking in Caistor. Becky, meanwhile, was also tired and a little bit stressed. I guess you get weeks like that; you can’t be on top form all the time. This may be because months of continued COVID-19 restrictions are affecting people’s states of mind. Indeed, the general feeling was that the less you went out, the less you wanted to.

 Anyway, there was positive news from Richard Johnson on identifying the previous elusive medications that were used in the Norfolk County Asylum, via a contact who was an ex-McMillan nurse. Likewise, Gail and her Richard had managed to locate a pamphlet through the Museum Service outlining the general rules of the asylum, an artefact considered “gold dust” in terms of research.

 The discussion livened up further with Richard Johnson’s observation on the recent acting workshops. He felt that “the way the actors were going with some of the patients was a bit libelous,” but then again Richard was quick to point out that “you can’t libel the dead.” This led on to a chat amongst us about how we would feel if our mental health records were accessed in – say – a hundred years’ time and we were reimagined as fictional characters in a play. I was one of the Casebookers who didn’t mind: I won’t be around, and I’m all for the idea as long as my records are used for the betterment of mental health care. (Furthermore, Richard considered that, generally speaking, the Upshoot Theatre Company were using “the right mix of fact and fiction.”)

 Another enthralling topic of discussion was that accidents were dealt with “promptly and efficiently” under Dr. Hills – within weeks – a massive contrast with modern investigations that can drag on for years and, in some cases, are engineered to protect health trusts or those guilty of malpractice. It’s another example of how the stereotypical view of ‘Victorian values’ is being challenged by what we’re doing.

 It’s good to be back on the case.

'Robert Fairclough writes on a variety of subjects, including mental health and popular culture (sometimes both at once). He has written six books, contributes to magazines and websites, and writes regular blogs for The Restoration Trust. He can be contacted on robmay1964@outlook.com, and his website can be viewed at www.robfairclough.co.uk '