The State Hospital (also known as Carstairs Hospital, or simply Carstairs) is a psychiatric hospital near the village of

Carstairs Junction Carstairs Junction ( gd, Snaim Caisteal Tarrais) is a village in South Lanarkshire. Taking its name from the village of Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is ...

, in

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

, Scotland. It provides care and treatment in conditions of high security for around 140 patients from Scotland and Northern Ireland. The hospital is managed by the State Hospitals Board for Scotland which is a

public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

accountable to the

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

through the Scottish Government

Health and Social Care Directorates The Health and Social Care Directorates are a group of directorates of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and social care. The Chief Executive of NH ...

. It is a Special Health Board, part of the NHS Scotland and the only hospital of its kind within Scotland.

History

Carstairs Hospital was constructed between 1936 and 1939. Although it was planned and financed as a facility for " mental defectives", it was first used as a military hospital, during the Second World War. The War Office relinquished control of the hospital in 1948, when it became the State Institution for Mental Defectives. On 1 October 1957 there was a large transfer of 90 criminally insane prisoners from the criminal lunatic department at

HM Prison Perth HM Prison Perth is a prison that houses short term adult male prisoners (those prisoners serving under 4 years). A maximum security establishment which also houses fine defaulters and those on remand from the courts of Angus, City of Dundee, P ...

to Carstairs, and this new combined unit became The State Mental Hospital. The State Hospitals (Scotland) Act 1994 enabled management of the hospital to be transferred from the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

to NHS Scotland, coming under the control of the State Hospitals Board for Scotland. A redevelopment of the hospital was approved by the Scottish Government in September 2007. Construction began in April 2008 and the new hospital facilities were officially opened on 26 June 2012.

Security

The hospital has an alarm system that is activated if any patient escapes to alert people in the vicinity, including those in the neighbouring town of Lanark, and local villages such as

Ravenstruther Ravenstruther ( sco, Raenstrie) is a small hamlet in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, near the town of Lanark. In 1517 the lands of Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstai ...

and

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

. The system is tested on the third Thursday of every month at 1300hrs when the all clear siren sounds. One infamous incident of a break out happened in 1976, when two patients, Thomas McCulloch and Robert Mone, murdered a nurse, a patient and a police officer with axes in an escape attempt.

Controversies

*In August 1999, a convicted killer walked free from Carstairs after his lawyers exploited a legal loophole. Noel Ruddle, who served seven years for shooting his next door neighbour with a semi-automatic Kalashnikov type rifle in 1991, was given an absolute discharge by a sheriff because his mental illness was deemed untreatable. He admitted that he had not been cured and had also boasted about beating the system."Released killer says: 'I'm not cured'"
BBC News. 5 August 1999 A year after his release, Ruddle escaped a prison sentence for threatening to kill a priest. An emergency Bill was brought forward by the Scottish Executive to prevent further exploitation of this loophole, becoming the

Mental Health (Public Safety and Appeals) (Scotland) Act 1999 The Mental Health (Public Safety and Appeals) (Scotland) Act 1999 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament which was passed by the Parliament in September 1999 and was designed to close a loophole in the law which led to the release of mentally ill ...

, the first Act of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

. As emergency legislation, it was repealed and replaced by the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 on 5 October 2005. *In December 2004, Michael Ferguson was allowed an unsupervised visit to see his fiancée at East Kilbride Shopping Centre. He failed to report back to Carstairs staff two hours later as agreed. First Minister

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister ...

ordered an urgent report into the decision. * In June 2013, a patient absconded while on an escorted outing to the McArthurGlen shopping centre in

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, and was later arrested and taken back into custody after being spotted by members of the public in Hamilton.

References

External links

The State Hospitals Board for Scotland – official website
at NHS Scotland {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1939 1936 establishments in Scotland Health in Northern Ireland Hospitals established in 1936 Hospitals in South Lanarkshire NHS Scotland hospitals Penal system in Scotland Psychiatric hospitals in Scotland Military hospitals in the United Kingdom Carstairs

History

Security

Controversies

See also

References

External links