This film is part of Free

Something to Offer
An interesting documentary on psychiatric provision, set at a Plymouth day hospital and originally produced for nursing recruitment.
Overview
Filmed at a Plymouth day hospital, this is a consistently interesting documentary on mental health and psychiatric services. Commissioned by the DHSS as a psychiatric nursing recruitment tool, it started life in a version called On Hand to Listen. Something to Offer is a shorter edit intended for television: it was broadcast by ITV, serving both the recruitment campaign and a broader public education remit.
The film was made by Samaritan Films β nothing to do with the Samaritans but an independent production company whose specialisms included social issues films commissioned by charities and government. That the film so easily transferred to TV illustrates a trend in sponsored documentary film that was growing: to borrow from TV technique. Its low-key, sober but warm and fluent style, marked by Peter Jessopβs mobile 16mm camerawork and a mixture of observation and interview, is very reminiscent of television documentary. It captures a time of great change in psychiatry, moving away from stand-alone mental institutions to integration with general hospitals and what was later termed care in the community. This all said, its perspective on the subject is, as its government paymasters would have wished, ultimately promotional rather than critical.
Related

Pembrokeshire, My County Pembrokeshire, My County
Documentary 1960 27 mins Location: St Davids / Tyddewi
Lush travelogue painting a relaxing picture of the county, from Prescelly Hills and St. David's Cathedral to Caldy Island

The House that Moved The House that Moved
Current affairs 1961 3 mins Silent Location: Exeter
A medieval move that hits newsdesks around the world as a timber house finds a new settlement to satisfy the town planners.

Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.

All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.

Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.

Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.

Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of childrenβs palliative care.

Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.