Severalls Hospital is a large psychiatric hospital, established in 1913 and originally designed for about 2000 patients. With the changes in attitudes to mental health over the last 70 years the hospital's aims and objectives have altered several times. Now, with the number of in-patients already reduced to approximately 650 and the movement to run down large hospitals such as this, preparation needs to be made for the shift to the community as the main future base for psychiatric services. Over the years the hospital has recognised the importance of preserving close links with the patient's home and has always maintained that regular activity and work is vital in the process of re-establishing patients in the community and in employment.