NHS Dumfries and Galloway apologises to Ladyfield psychiatric unit child abuse victims

A health board has issued a “full and unreserved apology” to victims of historical child abuse at a psychiatric unit in Dumfries.

Ladyfield estate, which was previously run by NHS Dumfries and Galloway, has come under scrutiny by the long-running Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

In an update published in an NHS Dumfries and Galloway report in December, the NHS board chief
executive said conditions children and young people experienced at the estate were “totally unacceptable”.

An apology was issued on behalf of the health board to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and affected individuals.

The update detailed in the report added that NHS Dumfries and Galloway no longer provides inpatient mental health care facilities, with services now accessed through the new Children’s Hospital and Skye House, operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Clinicians will maintain responsibility for children and young people who seek treatment outwith NHS Dumfries and Galloway, the update added.