Rohallion Secure Care Clinic fencing guidance: FOI release

Information requested

With regard to the Faskally ward at the Rohallion Secure Care Clinic, Murray Royal Hospital, Perth, you asked:

1. Can the Scottish Government please provide me with a copy of the guidance / the legislation in respect of fencing around low secure wards (i.e. what is the minimum height a fence must be, what material must it be made out of etc)?

2. If NHS Tayside refuse to provide permanent fencing around Faskally ward are the Scottish Government able to instruct NHS Tayside (for the safety of patients and the general public) to construct a suitable fence around the ward?

Response

The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. Relevant guidance can be found here: Mental Health ‐ Adult Acute Units (HBN 03‐01) | National Services Scotland.
Please note the guidance states (section 1.6) that ‘DH publishes guides for secure hospital services that provide specific advice on appropriate environmental design, security measures and building materials, fixtures and fittings. These should be used in conjunction with DH good practice policy guides for low and medium secure services, and for psychiatric intensive care. More information can be found on the Department of Health’s website’. The relevant guidance is ‘Health Building Note 03‐01 Supplement 1: Medium and low secure mental health facilities for adults’.

2.The Scottish Government would expect guidance to be followed, but if local circumstances warranted a variation from the guidance, we would assume that the local clinical and facilities team would be better placed to make such a determination and therefore the Scottish Government would not routinely override decisions of the local team.

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