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MSPs debate call for Tayside mental health inquiry Families will have voice in mental health inquiry says minister
(about 11 hours later)
MSPs are to debate calls for a public inquiry into mental health services in the NHS Tayside region. Scotland's health secretary said she understood why the families of suicide victims wanted answers over the lack of mental health support.
An independent probe was ordered by health board bosses after concerns were raised about the suicide rate in the area. Shona Robison was speaking ahead of a Holyrood debate calling for a public inquiry into mental health services in NHS Tayside.
Local campaigners have said this does not go far enough, and are pushing for a full public inquiry into services. An independent probe has been ordered into the Caresview Centre in Dundee, but families say that is not enough.
Ministers say the existing probe will "capture the concerns of the patients and families who have felt let down." Mr Robison insisted the views of families would be heard.
They also say the NHS Tayside-commissioned study could be escalated into a government inquiry if it is "hindered" by non-cooperation or a lack of independence. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, she said: "I have met with families in Dundee and indeed elsewhere who have lost loved ones to suicide and they want answers, and if those answers can be given then this inquiry should seek to do that."
The topic was raised at Holyrood after Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard highlighted the case of David Ramsay, who killed himself in 2016 after twice being turned away from the Carseview mental health centre in Dundee. The minister also said that the inquiry, announced by the new chairman of NHS Tayside John Brown, "should seek to look at where services need to be improved" at not only Caresview but the whole of the area.
Mr Ramsay's niece Gillian Murray told BBC Scotland that a public inquiry was needed for the "many, many lives that have been swept under the carpet". She also called for the resignation of Health Secretary Shona Robison. The spotlight fell on mental health services in Tayside after the case of David Ramsay was raised at First Minister's Questions last week.
The following day, NHS Tayside announced the care provided by Carseview would be reviewed, with the board chairman, John Brown, saying it would "address the concerns of some families who have been speaking out". The 50-year-old took his own life in 2016 after twice being turned away from the Carseview unit in Dundee.
However, Ms Murray responded that the "NHS Tayside mental health crisis extends beyond Carseview", saying there was a "catalogue of failings" which merited a public inquiry into services right across the region. His niece Gillian Murray is now campaigning for improvements to the system.
MSPs will debate this on Wednesday afternoon, with Labour's health spokesman Anas Sarwar tabling a motion urging the government to instigate a public inquiry. MSPs will debate the issue on Wednesday afternoon, with Labour's health spokesman Anas Sarwar tabling a motion urging the government to instigate a public inquiry.
He said: "The exceptional campaigning of the families of Dundee has pushed this to the top of the agenda in Scotland. It is now for MSPs to recognise this and show they are listening.He said: "The exceptional campaigning of the families of Dundee has pushed this to the top of the agenda in Scotland. It is now for MSPs to recognise this and show they are listening.
"These families deserve answers. Only a full, independent public inquiry can deliver that.""These families deserve answers. Only a full, independent public inquiry can deliver that."
Ms Robison - herself a Dundee MSP - has tabled an amendment instead welcoming the existing inquiry.Ms Robison - herself a Dundee MSP - has tabled an amendment instead welcoming the existing inquiry.
She said it would "be an opportunity to capture the concerns of the patients and families who have felt let down by services".
The health secretary also said that "if the NHS Tayside-commissioned inquiry is hindered in its undertaking by either non-cooperation by providers or by lacking appropriate independence, the Scottish government should subsequently convert it to an inquiry under the auspices of the Inquiries Act 2005".
The Scottish Conservatives tabled a motion seeking a middle route, calling for "a wider independent inquiry across the region".The Scottish Conservatives tabled a motion seeking a middle route, calling for "a wider independent inquiry across the region".
Health spokesman Miles Briggs said this approach "would allow for these concerns to be investigated comprehensively in order to restore faith in these services among patients and their relatives and friends". The party's health spokesman Miles Briggs said this approach "would allow for these concerns to be investigated comprehensively in order to restore faith in these services among patients and their relatives and friends".