More clarity needed on why Skye House allegations were missed
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that ministers must provide greater clarity on why allegations of a culture of cruelty at Skye House were missed.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Cole-Hamilton highlighted to the Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Maree Todd, that the Mental Welfare Commission visited Skye House on six occasions but missed allegations of cruelty.
In response, the Minister said that the government is “keen to improve the quality of inspections”, but failed to set out exactly why cruel behaviour was missed, what those improvements would be or how they would be implemented.
The issue was raised in a parliamentary question to the Scottish Government today. It follows several former patients speaking out about their experiences at Skye House in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Those patients describe being excessively medicated and sedated while at the facility and recall nursing staff quickly resorting to force, with some labelling patients as ‘disgusting’ and mocking their suicide attempts.
Speaking after the exchange, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:
"From this short response from the Minister, it’s still not clear what exactly failed in the current system to cause these horrific descriptions of cruelty and abuse to be missed.
“While the Scottish Government has suggested improving inspections of facilities like Skye House, it’s not clear what exactly those improvements would be, how they will be made or how long they will take to come into effect.
“We need to know whether it is the Mental Welfare Commission, the body that inspected Skye House during the relevant time period, that can take appropriate action when allegations like these are made.
“It’s so important that every child and young person going through a difficult time has faith in the system. That’s why the Scottish Government must make a comprehensive statement to parliament that properly clarifies the powers of the Mental Health Commission and whether this body is sufficiently empowered to act in cases like these."