The Locked Ward cover art

The Locked Ward

Memoirs of a Psychiatric Orderly

 Preview
Subscribe now Free with 30-day trial
Offer ends on 14 April, 2026 at 23:59.
Prime logo
Pay ₹5/month for 2 months and ₹199/month after 2 months, Cancel anytime. Offer ends on 14 April 2026 at 23:59. Take this offer!
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep.
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks.
Download titles to your library and listen offline.
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

The Locked Ward

Written by: Dennis O'Donnell
Narrated by: Dennis O'Donnell
Subscribe now Free with 30-day trial

Pay ₹5/month for 2 months and ₹199/month after 2 months, Cancel anytime. Offer ends on 14 April 2026 at 23:59.

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹683.00

Buy Now for ₹683.00

LIMITED TIME OFFER | Get 2 Months for ₹5/month

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.


An extraordinary account of a nurse's life behind the locked doors of a secure psychiatric ward.

Dennis O'Donnell started work as an orderly in the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit of a large hospital in Scotland in 2000. In his daily life he encountered fear, violence and despair but also a considerable amount of care and compassion. Recounting the stories of the patients he worked with, and those of his colleagues on the ward, here he examines major mental health conditions, methods of treatment - medication, how religion, sex, wealth, health and drugs can bear influence on mental health, the prevailing attitudes to psychiatric illness, the authorities, the professionals & society.

What emerges is a document of humanity and humour, a remarkable memoir that sheds light on a world that still remains largely unknown.

'This is a superb study of people whose minds have gone wrong, and the art of caring for them' Evening Standard


© Dennis O'Donnell 2012 (P) Penguin Audio 2012

 Medical Medicine & Health Care Industry Mental Health Professionals & Academics Psychology & Mental Health

Critic Reviews

I really enjoyed The Locked Ward. He is compassionate without any taint of sentimentality, and the way he uses language is so elastic. It's like he's the most brilliant court-jester in the most colourful of courts. Bravo to him! (Gabriel Weston, author of Direct Red)
No reviews yet