The Mental Welfare Commission has asked managers at the state hospital for regular staffing update amid concerns patients are being locked in their rooms because there are too few nurses and care colleagues on shift.

In its report following an unannounced visit to the Arran and Mull Hubs – units each with up to 36 beds across three wards – last November, the watchdog has issued recommendations to ‘address the serious staffing difficulties in the hospital to minimise the impact on patient care’, and for the hospital management team to review whether restrictions and practices introduced at the height of the pandemic are still required and being applied appropriately.

The state hospital at Carstairs is a high security national service for Scotland and Northern Ireland for patients whose care and rehabilitation need to be in a ‘highly restricted’ environment.

The Commission says its four-person team let patients talk about their care and treatment, and particularly how they had been affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

In its report, the watchdog says it also wanted to ensure care and treatment were being provided in terms with mental health legislation and complied with patients’ human rights.

The watchdog says the staffing situation has persisted for many months and patients have reported no sign of improvement – though patients ‘spoke positively’ about the hospital staff and acknowledged that they were stretched and working extra shifts to help.

The report states: ‘The lack of staffing and ward closures not only results in more confinement for patients but interrupts therapeutic interactions on the ward, activities and therapeutic intervention. We also heard it has resulted in postponement of family visits which is distressing for patients and families.’

Recommendations from a previous visit had also centred on concerns about there not being enough staff.

In its report this week, the Commission says the pandemic has made the situation ‘even more difficult’.

‘We heard from patients that there are ongoing and frequent situations where reduced levels of staffing, particularly nursing, is resulting in them being locked in their room often for hours at a time,’ the Commission says in its report.

The report concludes that the pandemic simply added to an already difficult staffing situation with a number of people retiring, some leaving and others on sickness absences.

The number of people available on wards was also reduced when staff had to leave the state hospital with patients who needed treatment in local general hospitals.

The Commission says that there were a number of occasions where patients tested positive for covid-19 and then had to isolate in their rooms for 14 days.

While not commenting further on the Commission’s reports, Suzanne McGuinness, Executive Director (Social Work), Mental Welfare Commission, said:

“We have been introducing our visits on an announced basis given the challenges of the pandemic. As well as looking at our ongoing areas of interest we are seeking to understand how services are coping with pandemic restrictions, and how those restrictions are affecting individuals and visitors.

“By publishing our reports, we hope to help share good practice where we find it, and call for change where services are lacking."

Read More: Under-18s routinely sent to adult mental health wards; Rise in mental health detentions confirmed; Watchdog concerned at psychiatric patient DNR.

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