No Going Back: Memories of Prudhoe Hospital

Tim Keilty, Kellie Woodley, Sharon Harrison and Prudhoe residents
prudhoestories@skillsforpeople.org.uk

Skills for People is a Self Advocacy Organisation based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. For the past two years we have been working on a project called 'No Going Back'. We had a steering group which included people with learning disabilities, family members and staff from Skills for People.

The project tells the stories of 12 people who lived in Prudhoe Hospital. Prudhoe is now closed but at one time 1,500 people lived there.

No Going Back looks at:

• The history of long stay hospitals.
• People's own stories of life in Prudhoe Hospital and afterwards.
• How it was easy for bad people to do bad things in Prudhoe.
• How it was hard for good people to do good things.

We have:

• Published a book.
• Made a website.
• Made a short film.

We would like to share our work about good support outside the hospital and talk about what made Prudhoe a bad place.