Dr McCoy, Mental and Looking Back

My favourite star Trek film is “The Voyage Home,” which you may or may not know is the one where they go back in time to find some whales.





Some very good scenes involved Dr McCoy being absolutely disgusted at today’s medical practices – my favourite being the good doctor giving an old woman who was awaiting a kidney transplant a tablet so her kidney grew back. Miraculous.


I remembered this film last night when watch “Mental-A History of the Madhouse.” Back then they used to give Insulin Shock Therapy to patients. It was thought that giving people suffering a Schizophrenic Coma an insulin induced coma on a regular basis was a good idea. Absolutely horrible, but back then they thought it was revolutionary.

But when we look back in sixty years time, what do we think will be considered barbaric about today’s health treatment?