'Little evidence' of women's high security facility opening in Scotland, say family of carer stabbed to death

The family of a carer who was stabbed to death by a resident have said they have seen “little evidence” of the creation of a women’s high security facility in Scotland.

Michele Rutherford, 54, was killed by Kellyanne McNaughton on March 7, 2023, at Craighall Court in Stirling after failed attempts to get the 33-year-old psychiatric help.

McNaughton had originally faced a murder accusation, but prosecutors accepted her guilty plea to the reduced charge of the grounds of diminished responsibility.

McNaughton had low IQ and been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder.

She had spoke of having “trances” which made her “unaware of what was happening” and “only becoming aware at the end of it”.

During the court case, Mrs Rutherford’s family heard there had been failed discussions about transferring McNaughton to two clinics, as well as the Rampton Secure Hospital in England.

There is currently no high-risk facility for women in Scotland, after the State Hospital in Carstairs closed its female facility, leading to an agreement to house female patients from Scotland at Rampton.

Kellyanne McNaughton, 33, pled guilty to culpable homicide. Police Scotland

It was then confirmed in July following the court case that McNaughton would receive treatment at the Priory Hospital Llanarth Court in Monmouthshire, Wales – which is deemed a “medium-risk” facility.

The family say this isn’t enough and that a high-risk facility for women should open in Scotland.

Mrs Rutherford’s husband William and daughter Amy have raised the issue with MSPs and ministers but claim to have received an “entirely unsatisfactory response”.

Earlier this week, the family met with Scotland’s justice secretary Angela Constance and social care minister Maree Todd to discuss the issue.

The Scottish Government has also written to Mrs Rutherford’s family, saying there have been a number of meetings with stakeholders to consider the challenges around prison to hospital transfers and how a high secure service for females could be provided in Scotland.

The letter states a formal business case will be developed within the next 12 months that will outline resourcing and potential costs.

Michele with her husband William STV News

However following the meeting, the family said they had seen “little evidence” of progress in creating such a facility north of the border.

In a statement released through Victim Support Scotland, the Rutherford family said: “Whilst the Scottish Government are publicly stating that progress is being made towards the creation of a high-security female psychiatric unit in Scotland, we see little evidence of this. Having stated that ‘doing nothing is not an option’, we were given no clear assurances regarding timescales and a roadmap for a high-risk female psychiatric unit in Scotland.

“Furthermore, should a high-risk facility eventually be introduced, we remain extremely concerned and distressed that there is no firm plan to automatically relocate women who have been placed out with Scotland due to lack of facilities.

“Ministers confirmed what we had suspected that the agreement with Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire is not fit for purpose and has not been for some time. This agreement was put in place to accommodate female patients from Scotland when the decision to close the female facility at Carstairs was taken. That leads us to believe that if a similar incident were to happen again, another family would find themselves in exactly the same position as we are. This is simply not good enough.

“Ministers have committed to keeping us up to date with progress, which we welcome. We remain committed to pushing the Scottish Government to act in Michele’s memory.”