|Bethlem Hospital, 1828|
Adjective & noun. LME.
[Form of Bethlehem]
1 The town of Bethlehem in Judaea. obsolete. LME-E17.
2. The Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem (Bethlem Royal Hospital in London),
used as an asylum for the insane. archaic. LME.
3. A person who was mentally ill; spec. a discharged but not fully cured patient of the
Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem, licensed to beg. obsolete. E16-E18.
4. A lunatic asylum; a madhouse. archaic. M17.
5. (A scene of) mad confusion; a wild uproar. M17.
Belonging to or fit for a madhouse; lunatic; foolish. L16.
The mistreatment, misunderstanding and prejudice against those with mental illness is a problem deeply rooted in society. However, things have come a long way and this is well illustrated by the word bedlam. It comes from The Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem, now called the Bethlem Royal Hospital, in London. With its origins as an insane asylum in the 14th century and operating today as a modern specialist hospital, it is Europe's oldest and most famous hospital specialising in mental health. While it now stands as a modern facility, fully representative of modern medicine and understanding of mental illness, its dark history is a stark reminder of the most horrific abuses suffered by those deemed to be insane. Problems continue today, of course; understanding of mental health is incomplete, systems of care are flawed and social stigma remains. But if the grueling transition of the Bethlem Royal Hospital is indicative of the direction that mental health care is travelling in - from a culture of abuse and punishment, confinement and coercion, to one of treatment and understanding, care and respite - then at least it is moving in the right direction.