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Former patients at Scotland’s biggest children’s psychiatric hospital have spoken out about a culture of cruelty among nursing staff.
Patients who were teenagers when they were admitted to Skye House, a specialist NHS unit in Glasgow, told BBC Disclosure some nurses called them “pathetic” and “disgusting” – and even mocked their suicide attempts.
One young patient said the 24-bed psychiatric hospital was like “hell”. “I’d say the culture of the nursing team was quite toxic. A lot of them, to be honest, were quite cruel a lot of the time,” she added.
Patients said nurses quickly resorted to force, including physical restraint and dragging patients down corridors, leaving them bruised and traumatised. Some reported being punished for being unwell, including being made to clean up their own blood from self-harm incidents.
The BBC found that many staff were not properly trained and did not have experience working with teenagers with mental health conditions.
Skye House accepts children aged 12 to 18 who are usually at crisis point. Most are detained under the Mental Health Act, which means they cannot leave until doctors decide they are fit to be discharged.
Cara spent more than two years in the unit, from the age of 16, being treated for anorexia. She was restrained more than 400 times over 18 months, medical records reviewed by the BBC showed. She was often left with bruises and on one occasion a clump of her hair was pulled out.
Abby is autistic and was admitted to Skye House at the age of 14 when she was self-harming and suicidal. She was there for two and half years and says she felt bullied by staff, some of whom could be verbally abusive.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said a review of medication was carried out in 2023 and this changed the way medication was administered. The health board said it had made a number of improvements to patient care including staff recruitment and training of safe-holds.
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