Later Developments

Later developments

In 1923 the institution was renamed County

Mental Hospital, Prestwich, and the term

asylum was abandoned. This reflected general

changes in mental health practice at the time

and emphasised that the hospital was a centre

of medical treatment and not just a place of

sanctuary for the afflicted. Another symptom

of this change was the shift in terminology

from ‘inmate’ to ‘patient’. From 1948, when the

National Health Service was established, until

1994, the hospital was known as Prestwich

Hospital. Since that time, the hospital has been

scaled down substantially, with much of the

original site redeveloped to accommodate a

supermarket, hotel, restaurant and housing.

It remains part of the Greater Manchester West

Mental Health Trust and continues to provide

mental health services, over 150 years after

Prestwich Asylum was built.