"Deep Sleep Therapy": ABC/Channel 4 1990s documentary on a psychiatric treatment that directly and indirectly was associated with a number of deaths

Re Dr Bailey: 7.20 mins
"He saw his cures as being a great answer to just about every mental illness. And with the force of his personality he gathered round him people who did believe in him, both medical people and nursing staff, but also a large personal following of patients. He was a very high profile, very public figure. And without that sort of personality, the type of thing which happened at Chelmsford would not have happened."

24.45 mins - compelling testimony from a wife who was a nurse

36.00 - the story of why it took so long to bring any of the doctors involved account. The treatment ended in 1979. "Finally, in 1988, the government announced a Royal Commission to thoroughly investigate the affair. After two and a half years of deliberations, the Commissioner made strong recommendations about the Chelmsford doctors. In spite of the Royal Commissions findings, 18 months on ..<the doctors> are still practising to this day."

 

From my memory of the video:
Sargant (in the UK) came up with the idea and Bailey copied it and took it further. Sargant realised after two patients died that weeks restrained in heavy sedation was not a good idea - and so he 'roused' the patients for meals. Bailey had his patients tube-fed and didn't seem to work out something was wrong at any point, not when he had 16 patients dead or later when there was more.

The video says that Sargant replied to Bailey's lawyer that, if he was called as a witness, he would not speak in support of Bailey but would instead say that he had been irresponsible. That seemed to devastate Bailey.