EXCLUSIVE: Alex Cole-Hamilton branded the lack of official accountability over Skye House in Glasgow as an “absolute scandal”.
11:43, 03 Sep 2025Updated 19:36, 03 Sep 2025
Young patients at Skye house were reportedly subject to forceful restraint and abusive language from staff.(Image: Google)
An MSP has demanded to know whether Scotland’s largest psychiatric hospital for children has been subject to an official inspection following allegations patients were subjected to cruel treatment.
Alex Cole-Hamilton today branded the lack of accountability over Skye House in Glasgow as an “absolute scandal”.
The facility was the subject of a recent BBC Scotland documentary which uncovered allegations of cruelty towards youngsters between 2017-2024. Former patients described being excessively sedated and recall nursing staff quickly resorting to force.
Cole-Hamilton has since demanded clarity over the role of the Mental Welfare Commission (MWC), which was reported to have visited Skye House several times during the period the allegations were made.
The MWC claim to “promotes the welfare of individuals with mental illness, learning disability or related conditions. It investigates cases where it appears that there may be ill-treatment, deficiency in care and treatment or improper detention of any such person. Following investigations, it can make and follow up recommendations.”
The Scottish Lib Dems leader wrote to the SNP Government asking them to clarify the powers of the MWC. But in a response, Minister for Mental Wellbeing Maree Todd said MWC representatives “do not carry out inspections or audits of services and they do not have enforcement powers”.
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Todd added the body with powers to inspect Skye House is Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) – which never attended the facility during the relevant period. Todd also revealed the body does “not currently regularly inspect children and young people’s mental health services”.
Cole-Hamilton said Todd’s response raised the critical question of whether any formal inspections ever actually took place at Skye House, and to whom the services provided were accountable.
He said: “This is an absolute scandal. How on earth did the Scottish Government allow for there to be no inspections at the country’s largest psychiatric hospital for children?
“It has taken months of persistence to get the government to admit that the body that attended this facility had no enforcement powers and the body that did never visited.
“This facility looked after extremely vulnerable young people facing serious crises. Their families trusted that the system would keep their children safe. But we now know it was a system without a safety net; it was a system that exposed their children to abuse, cruelty and degradation.
“It is shocking that ministers have only now introduced joint visits to inpatient adolescent units which will include the body with the powers to inspect. Sadly, I fear it has come too little, too late for the children and families who have already suffered so much at the hands of this government’s catastrophic failing.
“Ministers should review the governance arrangements that oversee mental health services in this country and ensure that the bodies involved have the right powers to investigate and hold services to account for how they treat young people. We cannot allow more kids to fall through the cracks.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde previously said it was “incredibly sorry” and has launched two inquiries into the allegations raised by the BBC investigation.
One patient said the 24-bed psychiatric hospital, which sits in the grounds of Glasgow’s Stobhill 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.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Although there have been no formal inspections of Skye House between 2017 and 2024, the Mental Welfare Commission has visited the unit seven times since 2016, most recently in March 2024. We expect NHS Boards to act on any recommendations made.
“Ministers have been clear in expressing their concerns about what happened at Skye House, and our focus remains firmly on driving improvements to ensure young people receive the highest standards of care.
“Earlier this year, the Scottish Government set out plans for further independent assurance via joint inspections and visits by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Mental Welfare Commission. These engagements are now underway across Scotland’s CAMHS inpatient units – including Skye House – and will provide assurance on safety and quality of care, as well as highlighting any national recommendations to strengthen services.”
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