Contact Us

General Patient Enquiries

Any general enquiries regarding State Hospital patients should be directed to our Health Records Department via email to TSH.patientenquiries@nhs.scot

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Access to Patient Health Records

Access for Designated Medical Practitioners (DMPs) / Other Authorised Visitors to Patient Records at The State Hospital (February 2021) General Information Sheet (Health Records)

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To contact a patient’s Clinical Team

As a State Hospital patient’s visitor or carer, we can provide you with clinical information or updates on your relative or friend’s care or discuss with you any associated issues or concerns, providing permission from your relative or friend is granted.

Between 9am and 5pm, you can contact our nursing staff or any other Clinical Team member. Outwith these times, you should contact the Nurse in Charge of the ward, or your relative or friend’s Key Worker. The Key Worker or Associate Nurse is often the best source of information. Whoever you contact will be able to provide you with information and ensure that any issues or concerns you may have are raised at the Clinical Team meeting and that you are informed of the outcome. Nursing staff are available 24 hours a day to offer support if necessary.

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To contact a patient's Social Worker

Just call 01555 840 293 and ask to be put through to Social Work at The State Hospital. Note:

• Before any information can be released, permission from your relative or friend (the patient) must be sought.
• You cannot phone and contact a patient directly via the main ward telephone. The only exception to this is in the case of an emergency. However, patients can make telephone calls to approved persons using the ward patient pay phone.

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To contact the Person Centred Improvement Team

Email - TSH.PersonCentredImprovementTeam@nhs.scot

Telephone - 01555 842054.

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To enquire about Volunteering

Information about Volunteering at The State Hospital can be found in the Person Centred Improvement section.

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To request a Community Presentation

Interaction between The State Hospital and the general public is significantly different to a traditional NHS board. The public / interested parties can engage with The State Hospital through a number of avenues including The State Hospital's website, Board meetings, public events and presentations delivered to community groups by staff. If you would like The State Hospital to present to your local community group, please contact tsh.info@nhs.scot

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To make a Complaint

Making a Complaint
The State Hospital is committed to providing high quality person-centred care and treatment to our patients, and the best possible services at all times.  However, we recognise that sometimes things do go wrong.

If during contact with our services, there is something that you have not been satisfied with, please let us know as soon as possible. By providing feedback about your experience you will help us to continue to improve our services. If we cannot resolve matters in the way you want, we will explain why it is not possible to do as you suggest.

The views of patients and their loved ones help us to make continuous improvements – our complaints process is a key component of this.  We fully recognise that when concerns about patient care are formally raised through the complaints process you may be upset and distressed and understandably emotions can run high.  The Complaints Department has a dedicated Complaints Officer and Complaints Manager who are here to help you and will do so in a dignified and respectful way and it is expected that the same courtesy is shown to them.

This page is to give you guidance on how to make a complaint if you wish to do so.

NHS Scotland has a two stage complaints procedure:

• Stage 1 - We aim to resolve all straightforward complaints and concerns within five working days. This will usually be by arranging for a local manager to contact you. If you are dissatisfied with our response at this stage you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage 2.

• Stage 2 - Some complaints or concerns are more serious and require a more detailed investigation into what went wrong. We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We aim to give you our decision as soon as possible, but usually within 20 working days. 

Who can complain?
Patients, carers or relatives of patients who are receiving, or have received a service from us. Please note - The State Hospital is a high secure forensic hospital and does not provide a direct service to the general public. The hospital provides a service to patients admitted under The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 / 2015 and other related legislation. We will not be able to look into your concerns if they relate to any other Mental Health Service or Health Board.

Can I make a complaint on behalf of someone else?
If your complaint relates to a relative or friend who is receiving treatment at the hospital, we will need to ask for their permission for you to make a complaint on their behalf. If they do not give consent, we may still be able to respond to some aspects of the complaint. You can complain to us directly, or through a representative. If the complaint relates to patient care, consent will be required from the patient to allow us to respond to your representative.

How can I make a complaint?
There are a number of ways; this can be done in person to any member of staff if you are visiting, by telephone, by email or you can write to us. Please provide your full name, postal address and telephone number and details of your relationship to the patient. 

Complaints Privacy Notice

How to Contact us:

• Telephone: 01555 842200
• Email: TSH.ComplaintsandFeedback@nhs.scot
• By post: The State Hospital, Lampits Road, Lanark, ML11 8RP

Independent advice and support
The State Hospital has an independent Patients’ Advocacy Service on site which is freely accessible to all patients. The Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) is an independent service which provides free, accessible and confidential advice and support to patients, their carers and families about NHS health care. The Service promotes an awareness and understanding of the rights and responsibilities of patients and will advise and support people to give feedback, make comments, raise concerns or make a complaint about treatment and care provided by the NHS in Scotland. More detail on this service can be found here https://www.cas.org.uk/pass.

If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of your complaint response at Stage 2 of the process, you can write to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO will only consider complaints after they have been through both stages of the NHS complaints process. You can contact them:

• In person: SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS (if you would like to visit in person you must make an appointment first).
• By post: Freepost SPSO.
• Freephone: 0800 377 7330.
• Online:https://www.spso.org.uk/contact-us / http://www.spso.org.uk

Please read The State Hospitals Board for Scotland Complaints & Feedback Procedure (January 2021)

BSL clip for the NHS inform article about Feedback and Complaints has been published. It is available here (and also on YouTube).

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To make a Freedom of Information Request

Please visit The State Hospital's Freedom of Information section. This is for Freedom of Information requests for The State Hospital only. It is not for other NHSScotland Boards.

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To enquire about Jobs

Please visit the Jobs & Placements section for jobs within The State Hospital and NHS Scotland.

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To provide Feedback on our Website

Please visit the Site Comments & Feedback section to provide feedback on The State Hospital's website.

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Legal Representatives

If you are a legal representative wishing to visit a State Hospital patient (i.e. your client), please call the patient's ward in the first instance to arrange a suitable date and time for you to visit.

On arrival at the Hospital you should provide a current Law Society ID card or Faculty of Advocates card. Where this is not possible then photographic ID must be provided. A check on the website for the Law Society and Faculty of Advocates will be carried out.

Trainee solicitors visiting the Hospital must produce photographic ID and a current letter from their firm confirming they are employed by them.

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Media Enquiries

From 9am to 5pm (Monday to Thursday) and from 9am to 4pm (Friday), media enquiries for The State Hospital should be emailed to tsh.info@nhs.scot

Outwith these hours, (if the enquiry is urgent / response needed right away) please call The State Hospital's Switchboard on 01555 840293 and ask to be put through to the Duty Security Manager who will then contact the Chief Executive or other nominated on-call Executive Director on your behalf and arrange for them to call you back. If the enquiry is not urgent, please email tsh.info@nhs.scot

Thank you!

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Information Governance and Data Protection

Any enquiries regarding information governance, data protection and subject access requests for The State Hospital (and not any other NHSScotland Board) should be directed to The State Hospital's Data Protection Officer.

Information Governance and Data Security Officer
The State Hospital
Carstairs
Lanark
ML11 8RP
Email: TSH.DataProtection@nhs.scot

The Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) is responsible for coordinating the development, implementation and maintenance
of information risk management policies, procedures and standards for The State Hospital.  Please direct any specific queries to:

tsh.siro@nhs.scot

For any enquiries relating to specific patient information, please contact the Caldicott Guardian for The State Hospital using the email below:

tsh.caldicottguardian@nhs.scot

 

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