Families fear 'whitewash' inquiry into Tayside mental health services

Families who have lost loved ones to suicide fear an inquiry into mental health services in NHS Tayside will be a "whitewash''.

Bereaved relatives came to Holyrood to listen to a Labour debate calling for a full public inquiry into service provision in the area - with health spokesman Anas Sarwar stating there had been a 61% increase in suicides in Dundee in the last year.

Labour has been pressing ministers on the issue after David Ramsay, 50, took his own life after he was twice rejected for treatment at the Carseview Centre at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital.

His niece Gillian Murray said the families "cannot move on with our lives without some form of justice''.

She said: "No other family should have to go through this sheer agony knowing that their loved one's death was preventable.

"David's life has been taken from him, my life has been destroyed in the process, as has the rest of my family's, and other families in Dundee. This crisis cannot continue.''

NHS Tayside has announced a review into the Carseview psychiatric unit.

Mental Health Minister Maureen Watt told MSPs she was confident the new leadership team at the health board would "create the environment for an effective and independent inquiry''.

By not making it a full public inquiry she said work could get under way quickly and "ensure any necessary changes are expedited''.

But she said Health Secretary Shona Robison would ensure one was held if the proposed review was not sufficiently independent.

Ms Watt said: "Should it be apparent that the inquiry is not independent or that barriers to its work exist, the Health Secretary will use the statutory powers available to her to make this happen.''

But Ms Murray, whose uncle died in 2010, said: "We need a full, independent, impartial public inquiry - that's the reason we're here.

"In spite of the proposed inquiry, it is not impartial, we need a truly independent review, because they are failing too many through Dundee, throughout Tayside, and it needs to stop.''

She added: "This crisis is no longer getting swept under the carpet. There have been four suicides in Dundee in the last two weeks.''

Malcolm and Karen Nichol's son Scott killed himself in 2010. While he had been admitted to Carseview for treatment, he was discharged after five days, his parents said. The 22-year-old died about three months later.

His mother said: "We met Shona Robison three or four times, and nothing has happened after these meetings, nothing.

"She has always said she would investigate things and get back to us, but never came back.''

Mr Nichol called on the Health Secretary to resign, saying: "The bottom line is we don't trust Shona Robison and we don't trust NHS Tayside.''

Speaking about the health board's inquiry, he said: "I don't believe for a minute it's not going to be a whitewash.''

Amanda McLaren said her son Dale Thomson, 27, was released from Carseview three years ago despite having told staff there he had a suicide plan.

"My granddaughter is now going to grow up without a dad because they have failed,'' she said.

"My son had a total plan, he'd tried it before. He knew how he was going to do it, where he was going to do it, what he was going to use and he told them this.

"They completely ignored that, they thought my son was OK.''

Mr Sarwar said: "It would be a tragedy if any inquiry didn't have the full support and confidence of the family, both in terms of its process or indeed its final report.'