By 1965 the London Chest Clinic had completely moved out from the
hutted area and the male staff who were staying at the Arlesey Bury were
moved in.
The association with the counties of Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire
was now over and thus ended over 100 years of the Three counties
connection, the hospital was now re-christened Fairfield Hospital and would
be known under this banner until it closed.
Therapies and new drugs were now showing great results and patients
could be treated outside of the hospital and live at home or in their own
warden controlled apartments. This kind of treatment meant the closing of
the old mental hospitals was inevitable, Enoch Powell’s vision of community
based care was on the horizon
In the 1960s It was clear to all staff that Fairfield Hospital would definitely
close, little did they know it would take another 38 years before the lights
were turned off and the doors locked for the last time.
Next month – The final instalment of our Part 5 history focuses on some
of the staff and shows how the site looks today after being developed into
‘Fairfield Park’ a development o