The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Government accused of ‘remaining silent’ on mental health ‘crisis’
Scottish Labour leader calls for inquiry but First Minister calls silence accusation ‘unfair’
The First Minister was accused of shunning bereaved families and their demands for a public inquiry into suicides linked with apparent NHS Tayside failings.
Relatives of a suicide victim from Dundee were in the public gallery when Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard challenged Nicola Sturgeon on the deaths at First Minister’s Questions yesterday.
The niece of David Ramsay, who killed himself after being refused admission at Carseview, later called for Health Secretary Shona Robison to be sacked for presiding over perceived scandalous low standards at the mental health unit in Dundee.
Gillian Murray, 28, said the campaign group Lost Souls of Dundee has identified 10 suicides linked with poor care at the centre.
The former SNP member quit the party over what she described as its failure to tackle suicide and said the family had been “shunned” by the party and treated like “absolute dirt” by the NHS system.
Ms Murray said: “We were begging for help, David was asking for help. They shut the door on us and they are shutting the door on so many and I won’t stop until we have got a public inquiry.
“Nicola Sturgeon can bury her head in the sand just now, but I will keep fighting because one more suicide is too many in Dundee.
“We have been saying this for years now and it’s still happening.”
She said “absolutely nothing was answered” by Ms Sturgeon at FMQs.
Mr Leonard yesterday followed up his demand, made in The Courier earlier this year, for a public inquiry into the way Carseview Centre operates.
Mr Leonard told FMQs: “Tragically, David’s story and the experience of his family is not unique in Dundee.
“When I was in Dundee in March I backed the call by families for a public inquiry into mental health services at NHS Tayside.
“First minister, why has your government remained silent on this crisis and silent on this demand for a public inquiry?”
The SNP leader issued “deep condolences” to the family.
She added: “I don’t think it is right or fair to say the government has remained silent. I know the health secretary has visited Carseview on a number of occasions.
“The Mental Welfare Commission, as I understand it, carried out an unannounced inspection of Carseview in March and made a number of recommendations.”
“Let me be very clear...we expect NHS Tayside to fully respond to those recommendations within three months and they have also been shared with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.”
“We were begging for help, David was asking for help. They shut the door on us and they are shutting the door on so many