Maudsley Hospital - Research and Teaching

Research and Teaching

Henry Maudsley was committed to psychiatric research, and the hospital incorporated the Central Pathological Laboratory transferred from Claybury Asylum. Although the hospital initially struggled to secure funding from the Medical Research Council, in 1938 the Rockefeller Foundation made a substantial award to support research and education and the Maudsley has been an internationally renowned centre for research ever since.

The Maudsley Hospital Medical School was established in 1924 and became a well-respected teaching centre. In 1932, Professor Edward Mapother, the first medical superintendent, described the Maudsley as "the main postgraduate school of mental medicine in England." This medical school later became the Institute of Psychiatry which is part of King's College London.

Throughout the 20th century, the Maudsley pioneered the development of new treatments. Breakthroughs included the introduction of clinical neuroscience in the 1950s which was partly led by Denis Hill, a senior lecturer at the Maudsley and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), and the use of group talking therapies which is still practiced today.

The growth of the Maudsley led to an on-going building programme. In 1933, a purpose-built outpatient department was added, two years after the completion of a secure unit.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, and the threat of air-raids, the Maudsley closed and staff dispersed to two locations: a temporary hospital at Mill Hill School in North London and Belmont Hospital in Sutton, Surrey. Staff returned to the Maudsley site in 1945 and three years later the Maudsley joined up with the Bethlem Royal Hospital to become partners in the newly established National Health Service (NHS). This partnership saw the introduction of more community-based services and a gradual expansion of the south London catchment area, to become South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in 2006.

Sharing the Maudsley site is the Institute of Psychiatry, a postgraduate institute of the University of London and, since August 1997, a school of King's College London. It is the only postgraduate institution in the UK that is devoted to the study and practice of psychiatry and related disciplines.