Nurse says 'I could have been killed' as he reveals life inside high security psychiatric hospital

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


A mental health nurse at one of the UK's high security psychiatric hospitals has revealed what life was really like inside. Paul Deacon worked at Broadmoor, in Berkshire, between 1987 and 1997.

Ahead of a new four-part documentary series about the institution, he has told how he was viciously attacked, witnessed drug smuggling and had to deal with patients escaping or taking their own lives. One horrendous incident not only left him fearing for his life but still gives him flashbacks.

The 67-year-old recalled that Ronnie Kray - one half of the notorious Kray Twins - enjoyed cult-like status. Paul - who is now a mental health lecturer - said: "Everyone from Barbara Windsor to The Who’s Roger Daltrey would come to see him."

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Paul worked on the admissions ward, where patients are under constant observation. He told how Spandau Ballet’s Martin and Gary Kemp visited Ronnie while researching their 1990 film The Krays, Mirror reports.

Paul said: "Martin and Gary were in the visiting hall. There’s a cafe there that’s run by patients and overseen by staff. Ronnie asked them both if they wanted to have a shandy - one with no alcohol, of course.

"They said "well that’d be nice". Ronnie ordered three and they were brought to the table. The Kemp brothers said they’d pay after.

"When Ronnie had left, a patient came up to the brothers and told them they needed to pay the bill. They looked at it and it was over £200. They said "hang on, we’ve only had three shandies".

"The patient said "I’m really, really sorry, I feel embarrassed by this, but Ronnie’s put the extra payment on for you interviewing him". They did pay for it too, but that made me laugh."

Ronnie was also particular about his diet, with a chef at Broadmoor agreeing to feed him his favourite Cumberland sausages after elder brother Charlie volunteered to pay for them. Paul recalled: "He didn’t converse much but he went to the library to write a lot.

"There were females though, who would drive up to the Broadmoor sign, remove their tops and send the pictures to Ronnie." Paul also met boxer Frank Bruno when he visited the hospital in 1991.

He recalled Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, as being 'less of a problem than others'. He said: "The trouble was more that patients wanted to stir him up and they wanted the fame of doing something to him."

After his transfer to Broadmoor, Sutcliffe was ambushed in his cell by Paul Wilson who tried to strangle him using the cord from a pair of headphones. In March 1997, Sutcliffe lost sight in his left eye after being stabbed by fellow inmate Ian Kay.

Former bare knuckle boxer Charles Bronson, 71, was harder to manage. Paul said: "The first time he came (to Broadmoor) he managed to get up on the roof of the ward and rip all the slates off.

"He was always being rotated because he was always so violent." Bronson was initially locked up in 1974 for armed robbery but had his sentence extended because of violent attacks and protests while inside.

In 1999, he held prison teacher Phil Danielson hostage for 43 hours in HMP Hull. During rotations to various prisons, he spent several stints in Broadmoor.

Paul said: "The second time he was admitted to Broadmoor he was in the admissions ward, called Luton, where patients were assessed. I wasn’t working there then, but I got called down because we had to increase staffing levels to manage him.

"I remember he would often undress and come down the corridor with no clothes on. We saw that happen a lot though, with people who are really psychotic and had lost touch with reality.

"He’d go from zero to ten very quickly, but we were trained how to de-escalate to bring that person down and medicate them. He was always about provoking and having a go at other patients so the whole ward felt chaotic.

"In other quieter times, he liked his artwork. He was quite good at drawing people and scenery." Paul also witnessed several patients escape, including double-child rapist James Saunders in 1991.

Paul said: "He actually jumped right over an 18-foot wall right up to where the camera was. He was being escorted to where he was working within Broadmoor at the time.

"The siren went off and we [staff] all met and were delegated roles, working with the police, checking car boots and so on." James was eventually found but became known as The Wolfman after living in the wild for three weeks while on the run.

Recalling being assaulted, Paul said: "It was a schizophrenic patient I had a really good rapport with but he became unwell. You get to know their triggers before they act out.

"He thought I was someone completely different and that I was going to attack him. I was one of several staff trying to restrain him. He suddenly got this rock out - I have no idea where it was from - and smashed it into my forehead. It really knocked me out."

While trying to restrain a patient who had got into a fight with another person, a fellow staff member accidentally locked Paul in a cell. He said: "Two patients were having a good old dust-up. The alarm went off and staff went running to the ward.

"I took one of the patient’s heads and two colleagues had his arms. We were taking him into a seclusion room. There’s a technique for doing that.

"Staff are called by numbers, not names. I said "number one, leave the room. Number two leaves the room". That left me in the room by myself. The idea was that I’d then let go of the patient's head and get out quickly, but when I tried the door was closed. One member of staff, why and how I don’t know, shut the door thinking I was out and I was left in there.

"The patient jumped off the bed and I thought I was going to be taken hostage and killed. I was in such a state. It didn’t last long before I got out, but I was shouting afterwards. I get flashbacks even now. I do wake up in the morning sometimes, thinking "I could have been raped. I could have been killed"."

Patients have also crafted weapons using items including spoons and CD cases. Paul said: "There was a room at Broadmoor where all the weapons retrieved from over the years were stashed. We went into it as part of our induction so we knew just what to look for.

"You’d be surprised - one had used the sharp metal lid of a corned beef tin as a weapon. I’d never have my keys dangling because some patients would start sketching them and try to make replicas. They could work on things like that for a year at a metal shop."

Despite tough security checks, smuggling drugs was common. Paul said: “It never ceases to amaze me how things were snuck in.

"Rubber tennis balls would be thrown into the courtyard with drugs inside. Family and friends would bring stuff for patients which is put in a box and checked by staff. It was then checked a second time on the ward, but we’d still miss things.

"A book of stamps had cocaine on the back. Another time, there was a carton of orange juice. The juice had been taken out and replaced by vodka, and then the carton had been resealed with wax. We’ve had people bringing in drugs embedded in their hats."

Paul - who has written book Walls and Bridges about his time working on some of Britain’s most challenging psychiatric wards - said he is proud of his career at Broadmoor. He said: "People ask me all the time why I’d have ever wanted to work at Broadmoor.

"There are days when you’re dealing with the most terrible things - hangings and terrible self-harm. You don’t ever become complacent about the dangers, but it’s your job and it’s about supporting patients.

"It’s a daily drip feed of trauma. You’re opening Pandora's Box. You can’t just go home, make a cup of tea and forget it. You have to talk everything through with colleagues.

"You are always talking over what’s happened to protect your own mental health. But Broadmoor staff are incredible. I’ve never felt so honoured to be working with such skilful people."

*Broadmoor starts at 10pm, Monday 21 October on Channel 5.