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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Concern over offender's unit site | Concern over offender's unit site |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Convicted sex offenders are being treated not far from a ward housing children with learning disabilities at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. | |
| Children's Comissioner Patricia Lewsley has written to the health minister seeking assurances about the safety of the children. | |
| She said such a unit was needed "but the ultimate is the protection of the children and young people". | |
| The Department of Health said the unit was separate and "fully secure". | The Department of Health said the unit was separate and "fully secure". |
| "These patients would be a risk to themselves and to others if they were not under appropriate supervision and care. | "These patients would be a risk to themselves and to others if they were not under appropriate supervision and care. |
| "The new facility is a unit that is fully secure and is entirely separate from other facilities at Muckamore. | "The new facility is a unit that is fully secure and is entirely separate from other facilities at Muckamore. |
| "Patients within this unit receive one-to-one supervision and do not come into contact with other patients at the hospital." | "Patients within this unit receive one-to-one supervision and do not come into contact with other patients at the hospital." |
| Controversy | Controversy |
| Mrs Lewsley said she would be meeting with the department of health and would "seek to ensure that there are strict guidelines and that they are adhered to". | |
| Dr Colin Milligan, who works at the hospital, said safety measures were of the highest standard. | |
| "All of the patients in the newly opened Sixmile forensic unit receive a dedicated, skilled multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment and that is based on detailed risk assessment and management," he said. | |
| "I think it is better risk assessment and management than we have ever been able to do." | |
| The hospital has been at the centre of controversy recently over the delayed discharge of children and young people from the hospital. | The hospital has been at the centre of controversy recently over the delayed discharge of children and young people from the hospital. |
| The government has said that no child with a learning disability will be living in hospital in two years' time as part of a £3m action plan. | The government has said that no child with a learning disability will be living in hospital in two years' time as part of a £3m action plan. |
| A recent BBC investigation disclosed that more than 100 adults and 17 children with learning disabilities were living in hospital unneccesarily. | A recent BBC investigation disclosed that more than 100 adults and 17 children with learning disabilities were living in hospital unneccesarily. |
| The new government plan states that by March 2009, no child, and by March 2014, no adult with such disabilities would be in hospital. | The new government plan states that by March 2009, no child, and by March 2014, no adult with such disabilities would be in hospital. |