High-Security Hospital For The Mentally Ill Is Unsafe

Rampton, where killers are detained, is so under-staffed that patients and workers are both at risk, warns watchdog

- REBECCA THOMAS

One of Britain’s three high-security hospitals – where notorious people including Ian Huntley and Charles Bronson have been detained – is so understaffed that neither workers nor patients are safe, a damning new report has found.

Rampton Hospital in Nottingham faces severe staff shortages, leading workers to restrain patients and lock them away in their rooms and putting patients at risk of self-harm, according to the Care Quality Commission.

In their report, inspectors – who rated the hospital as inadequate – said there were around half the staff needed on one ward. In one example of those at the hospital being at risk, a patient self-harmed with glass from their watch, while another was able to harm themselves with a CD while they were confined to their room.