Close suicide scandal mental health unit now
FEARS OVER ‘LIFE-THREATENING TECHNIQUES’
BY JAMES MONCUR MUMS of suicide victims yesterday demanded a controversial mental health unit be axed after revelations about its care standards.
The Carseview Centre restrained patients using dangerous and “life-threatening” techniques, a leaked report says.
The internal inquiry into the unit in Dundee alleges staff pinned down patients for as long as an hour and 45 minutes.
The report, which looked at 40 cases and was exposed on a BBC documentary, said face-down, prone-position restraints – the most risky – were used the most.
Mandy McLaren, whose 28-year-old son Dale Thomson took his life in 2015 after waiting more than 18 weeks to be seen, called for the unit to close.
She said: “The report doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t know. The problems run very deep at NHS Tayside. There are systemic issues with the whole organisation.
“Carseview is a disgrace and needs to be replaced with a stateof-the-art unit. There have been too many deaths linked to it. Some of the staff there are good but they are being dragged down by poor organisation and financial mismanagement.”
Jackie Hawes, whose Dundee FC starlet son, Harry, took his life in 2009 aged 17, added: “Nothing seems to be getting done about Carseview. We protest, organise newspaper coverage and go to Parliament but young people keep dying and getting treated terribly at Carseview.”
NHS Tayside commissioned the report after a string of complaints about Carseview, including from Mandy and Jackie, who’ve long campaigned for changes in mental health care.
The Daily Record first revealed watchdogs had raised fears about the unit in a report in July 2014.
It told of a lack of beds and staff, high absence rates due to stress among the unit’s crisis team, patients being released too soon and concerns not being acted on.
Professor Peter Tyrer, who chaired the group that wrote the NICE guidelines on restraint in mental health, told the BBC the report was “shocking”. He said: “I’ve seen reports like this before but not as damning.”
NHS Tayside medical director Peter Stonebridge said: “People have told us about the impact restraint has on their mental wellbeing and we’ll ensure their stories drive forward reductions we are determined to achieve.”
The report came up with 11 recommendations including urgent action on staff training and on illegal drugs on the ward.
It said the restraint policy should emphasise the safety of patients and staff and that the culture should be “based on caring and compassionate leadership”.
Report reveals staff pinned patients down for nearly 2 hours Victims’ mums demand urgent action to end toll of tragedy