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Safety

In comparison to our 2003 visits to mental health rehabilitation and continuing care wards, there is an increase in the number of people who do not feel safe. Some of the people we interviewed acknowledged that their symptoms cause a sense of insecurity, but for many the fears are external.

Almost half of the people we asked said that they had felt threatened or been subject to aggression in hospital. Of those who answered yes, more than half were men. In some cases, the protagonist was perceived to have been unwell at the time.

Only three out of five people who have been subject to threats or aggression reported an incident to staff - slightly more men than women. One person, who had been subjected to verbal threats reported it to staff and felt that this prevented further escalation. Other positive comments we received included; "he (member of staff) reassured me" , "things have improved" and "staff are more ready to listen".

Another said that "there is a patient who threatened me [in the past] and another who hits staff. It makes me feel scared to use the smoke room alone. Staff will come to the smoke room with me if I ask".

However, other comments suggested that for some, even if incidents are reported, "staff don't bother", and "staff just laughed and joked about it when I told them" or "staff just say behave yourself and don't worry".

Alarmingly, less than two out of five of those who felt threatened said they had received help to deal with threats or aggression. Lack of staff support was reported in

  • Dundee Liff
  • Gartnavel Royal
  • Leverndale
  • Russell Park
  • Murray Royal

Positive staff support was identified in comments about

  • Craigenhall Unit
  • Ailsa
  • Galavale
  • Argyll & Bute
  • The Orchards