Staff at Carstairs are furious after restrictions on visitors to the state hospital were lifted – despite care home visits being banned.
The hospital in South Lanarkshire, which houses some of Scotland’s most dangerous psychiatric patients, banned visits in September when cases began rising in the area.
But hospital chiefs told staff last week to prepare to allow patients to see their families.
A source said: “This has caused a lot of anger.
“Despite being in Level 3, patient’s families are being encouraged to travel from all over Scotland to visit – against Government advice.
"Care home residents are struggling to see their relatives but somehow this is deemed acceptable?”
Staff have raised an official complaint.
A spokeswoman for Carstairs said: “The State Hospital aligns its practice regarding visiting to the national visiting policy which applies across all of the NHS in Scotland.”
