Commission publishes new local visit reports - 16 November 2022

The Mental Welfare Commission today publishes 15 new reports on NHS hospital wards and other facilities in Scotland.

Every year the Mental Welfare Commission visits around 100 wards and units for people with mental ill health, learning disability, dementia or related conditions in Scotland, talking to patients, relatives and staff, and examining records. A report is published after each visit.

Today’s reports cover 15 of those visits, highlighting positive findings, aspects of care and treatment where we think the service could do better and making recommendations for change where necessary.

Claire Lamza, executive director (nursing), Mental Welfare Commission, said:

“These reports cover a range of wards and services from across Scotland, many of which focus on specific mental health needs, or on different age groups.

“We heard, as we do so often, of caring and dedicated staff. We also heard about pressures on services.

“Where we made recommendations for improvement, it was often about a lack of holistic care, by which I mean focus on the whole person, rather than just their medical needs.

“This is really important because, when someone requires hospital treatment for mental ill health, their recovery can be dependent on a range of individual needs including ensuring good physical health care, and positive psychological care. When these aspects are lacking, the impact on the individual is clear.

“More broadly, in around half of the reports we identified problems with the ward environment, where poor facilities or austere surroundings made it difficult for patients, and difficult for staff to offer the best care and treatment.”

The reports are for:

The Commission expects a response to each of its recommendations within three months of the reports being published.