Search begins for secure unit site

A new unit would relieve pressure on Carstairs

Health chiefs in the west of Scotland are launching a public consultation process as they seek a location for a new secure care centre for psychiatric patients.

The unit will take mentally disordered but not dangerous offenders who are currently detained in the State Hospital at Carstairs.

It is understood the 36-bed unit will be sited in either Lanarkshire or Argyll and Clyde at a cost of more than £5m.

The four west of Scotland health boards are involved in the search for a location for the new facility, which will take some of the pressure off Carstairs.

The Stobhill plans courted controversy

The consultation process is set to get under way on Tuesday as talks are held in East Kilbride.

The Scottish Executive's policy is to set up a network of what it describes as half way houses which would offer offenders care in medium secure units.

These units act as stepping stones to full rehabilitation and mean that patients need no longer be held in the State Hospital simply because there is a shortage of more suitable care.

Units already exist in Perth, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

It is planned to create two further facilities, one in Glasgow and the other elsewhere in the west of Scotland.

Bridge the gap

There has already been a heated dispute in Glasgow over the siting of such a facility in the grounds of Stobhill Hospital.

Locals vigorously opposed the plans, which they claimed would create a hospital on their doorsteps that they could not use.

They received backing from medical staff at the hospital, who felt the views of local people should be recognised.

Greater Glasgow Health Board said the unit was needed to bridge the gap between the maximum security at Carstairs and psychiatric hospitals, which are not best suited to provide secure care.

The campaigners claimed a victory last summer when a consultation meeting decided Stobhill was not the best option.

Major shake-up

However, the hospital's grounds re-emerged as the preferred site later in the year.

In January, the health board agreed that the plans should be placed back on the agenda as details of a major shake-up of the city's health services were announced.

The west of Scotland health boards are hoping to avoid a similar controversy.

Tuesday's conference features 200 members of voluntary organisations and care groups, who will debate issues such as location, security and accessibility.

Once these criteria are established the issue will go out to wider consultation, with the health boards aiming to identify a site by the summer.