Grieving relatives must get answers

THE need for a public inquiry into mental health services is now beyond question.

If Nicola Sturgeon was in any doubt, the harrowing ordeal faced by David Ramsay and his family will surely have changed that.

David was sent home from hospital with suicidal thoughts. He was told to walk his dog. He went on to take his life. This man, crying out for help, was rejected twice for treatment at the Carseview unit in Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.

As the Record has already highlighted, this family are not the only ones to have serious concerns. David’s grieving relatives listened in disbelief at Holyrood yesterday as Sturgeon was put on the spot by Labour leader Richard Leonard. He was right to call for an inquiry. Emotionally, this was a tough encounter for all concerned.

Politically, it puts even more pressure on Health Secretary Shona Robison.

She is facing repeated calls to quit, including from David’s family yesterday.

Robison is a Dundee MSP who is seemingly unable to stop a tide of failures, particularly in her own Tayside region.

The need for an inquiry into the Carseview unit is essential. The family want one, Labour demand one and the Lib Dems have been sounding the alarm about mental health services for years.

There can be no excuse – the Scottish Government must get to the bottom of this before anyone else suffers.