Granting patients in low security forensic mental health facilities the right to appeal against the level of security they are kept in would help ease patient backlogs and tackle a “vital human rights issue”, says Scotland’s Mental Welfare Commission (MWC).

Responding to the recommendation of the forensic mental health care review, published last week – the national watchdog says patients in low security facilities should be afforded the same rights of appeal that those in medium or high security facilities have been able to exercise for years.

Claire Lamza, Mental Welfare Commission Executive Director, told healthandcare.scot: “This change would likely help ease the log-jam in the forensic estate where people are waiting to move to lower levels of security, a vital human rights issue.

“It would also enforce the rights of these patients to leave hospital and return to the community.”

The MWC also supports recommendations that a high secure facility for women be established in Scotland in order to end the “discriminatory” situation that faces females who need advanced care being sent to England because there is no Scottish service.

Forensic mental health care review Chair Derek Barron has condemned the “indefensible” practice, while the MWC added: “The current situation – where women have to move across the border to England for high secure forensic care – is discriminatory. Rectifying this situation has stalled for too long.”

The review report calls for a new national health board to be set up to improve services for people whose mental ill-health leads them to offending or makes them a risk to others.

The MWC says such proposals will need “careful consideration” but “the principles of creating more uniformity of experience and expectation of levels of forensic provision is long overdue.”

Claire Lamza added: “The report is wide ranging and with sixty seven recommendations, covers many aspects of service and patient groups. We look forward to the discussion the report promotes and ultimately the resulting improvements in forensic provision upholding the rights for patients and their relatives/carers.”

Read more: “Indefensible” to send Scots women to England for care; New NHS board advised for forensic mental health care

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