A profile by the BBC of St Andrew's private psychiatric hospital in Northampton.
Genre:
Health and Medicine; News; Television
BBC Look East report on Northampton's not-for-profit, privately-run psychiatric hospital, St Andrew's. Purpose-built in 1838 and set on large grounds with a number of modern buildings, the facility can treat up to 400 individuals at any one time. As well as acute units for treating such problems as depression, alcoholism and eating disorders, the hospital operates as a teaching facility (providing practical and theoretical instruction for psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists and graduate psychiatrists), and houses a range of long-stay patient accommodation that the reporter likens to hotel rooms and which cost around £300 a week.
The reporter suggests that, with the National Health Service under increasing pressure, it seems likely that more and more people will turn to private healthcare. He interviews the Medical Director of St Andrew's, Dr Gavin Tennant, who talks about the private healthcare industry and its ability to provide a high standard of healthcare, as well as discussing the largely middle-class clientele that are treated there and the importance of private health insurance.
Also highlighted is the hospital's on-site recreation centre, where patients can play squash, table tennis and snooker, or use the heated swimming pool for recreation or rehabilitation, as well as it's golf course and tennis courts.
Featured People:
Dr Gavin Tennant, Medical Director
Featured Organisations:
St Andrew's Hospital; St Andrew's Healthcare; National Health Service
Featured Buildings:
St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton