The College Research Unit is undertaking an ethnographic study to describe life on acute psychiatric wards from the point of view of patients. The project is funded by a generous donation from Jim Birley, former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It aims to bring a new perspective to our understanding of the current state of acute wards. The underlying premise is that solutions to current problems must be informed by a good understanding of what actually happens on the wards and what it feels like to be a patient there.