Each patient at State Hospital costs us a record £355k a year
THE cost of holding each patient at the State Hospital at Carstairs has risen to a record £355,000 a year.
Astonishingly, the high-security facility now has more administration staff than patients.
The mother of an autistic man held there described the cost as ‘shocking’ and said the money would be better spent building her son a house and paying for round-the-clock care.
Figures obtained by The Scottish Mail on Sunday show the annual cost of detaining each patient at the Lanarkshire hospital has risen by more than £200,000 since 2009.
By contrast, the cost of holding each inmate in prison in Scotland was £39,350 last year. Patient numbers at Carstairs have fallen as many have been moved to medium-security units in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. However, the annual budget of the hospital, which is run by its own NHS board, has continued to rise and stood last year at about £40 million.
As well as being home to some of Scotland’s most dangerous patients, Carstairs treats people who have never been convicted of any violence.
Parents claimed young people with autism were being given a diagnosis of schizophrenia after being admitted, then held there at great expense. There was
‘More and more staff being hired to run it’
also controversy 18 months ago when it emerged Carstairs was doubling the number of wards, to two, holding patients with a learning disability.
The mother of Gordon Hughes, 24, who was sent there as a teenager after self-harming, hit out at the rising costs. Ruth Hughes said: ‘For the sums being ploughed into this hospital, our son could have his own house built and round-the-clock carers. Instead, he is being held in a maximum security hospital in a drug-addled state where he is deteriorating year on year.’
The hospital, which had 114 patients on March 30, employs 697, including 115 admin staff.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘It appears more and more staff are being hired to run it, without the same increase in the number of patients. Questions must be answered as to whether this is now delivering the best value for taxpayers.’
A spokesman for the hospital said it ‘delivers excellent stewardship of public monies and consistently delivers a breakeven financial position’.