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Survey of locked facilities in Scottish psychiatric hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Alan Smith
Alan Smith*
Affiliation:
Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, 7 West Rood Cambridge CB3 9DT
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Abstract

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A postal questionnaire survey of intensive care units/ locked wards in Scottish psychiatric hospitals revealed a lack of structural security features (other than a locked door) and an absence of personal alarm systems for staff in a substantial minority of units. The main reasons for transfer to locked units were physical violence to others and absconding risk, and the commonest diagnosis was schizophrenia. Transfer of in-patients not detained under mental health legislation was not uncommon. Differences in practice with regard to the transfer process were evident. In Scotland local locked facilities play an important role in secure provision and further evaluative research is required.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , February 1997 , pp. 77 - 79
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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