Back to index Original on gov.scot

FOI/202500498730 · FOI · unclear

Rohallion Secure Care Clinic fencing guidance: FOI release

Published
2026-05-06
Received
2025-12-17
Responded
2026-01-09
Directorate
Health and Social Care Finance Directorate
Topic
Health and social care, Public sector
Exemptions
1

Information requested

With regard to the Faskally ward at the Rohallion Secure Care Clinic, Murray Royal Hospital, Perth, you asked:

1. Can the Scottish Government please provide me with a copy of the guidance / the legislation in respect of fencing around low secure wards (i.e. what is the minimum height a fence must be, what material must it be made out of etc)?

2. If NHS Tayside refuse to provide permanent fencing around Faskally ward are the Scottish Government able to instruct NHS Tayside (for the safety of patients and the general public) to construct a suitable fence around the ward?

Response

The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. Relevant guidance can be found here: Mental Health ‐ Adult Acute Units (HBN 03‐01) | National Services Scotland. Please note the guidance states (section 1.6) that ‘DH publishes guides for secure hospital services that provide specific advice on appropriate environmental design, security measures and building materials, fixtures and fittings. These should be used in conjunction with DH good practice policy guides for low and medium secure services, and for psychiatric intensive care. More information can be found on the Department of Health’s website’. The relevant guidance is ‘Health Building Note 03‐01 Supplement 1: Medium and low secure mental health facilities for adults’.

2.The Scottish Government would expect guidance to be followed, but if local circumstances warranted a variation from the guidance, we would assume that the local clinical and facilities team would be better placed to make such a determination and therefore the Scottish Government would not routinely override decisions of the local team.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG

Detected exemption language

Please note the guidance states (section 1.6) that ‘DH publishes guides for secure hospital services that provide specific advice on appropriate environmental design, security measures and building materials, fixtures and fittings.

Attachments

No attachments found.

Similar releases