The Forensic Services Directorate aims to provide a safe environment for patients, visitors and staff. Patients will have access to their personal possessions where appropriate, however it will be necessary to exclude or restrict some items from patients while they are residents within the secure wards.

Visitors and family play an important role in the welfare of our patients, however, a visiting policy is essential to promote the health, safety, privacy and infection prevention and control, of our patients and our community.

All visitors to the Hatherton Centre, Ellesmere House and Clee will require collecting from reception and escorting to the area they are visiting.

We have provisions for child visiting. This requires to be agreed with the Multi-Disciplinary Team before these visits go ahead. Please contact the Ward Charge Nurse in the first instance.

Friends and Family Visitors

For visitors to the medium and low secure wards, photographic proof of identity will be required when you visit. There will be provision provided with lockers for valuables (including personal effects such as handbags etc) or items that are prohibited onto the ward areas.

Professional Visitors

All professional visitors must provide photographic identification or no access will be allowed. In instances where no photographic identification can be provided admission will only be authorised when verification is sought.

Parking is free, but there is an automatic number plate recognition system in use at this site. Therefore, you must register your car number plate (ask staff when you arrive) to avoid a fine. There is a 30-minute grace period, during which, no fine will be issued

Prohibited items are excluded because their makeup or properties could be hazardous. This may be because they could be used to harm others, because of their harmful properties (such as drugs or alcohol) or their illegality.
Restricted items may also be potentially hazardous. This may be because they could be used to cause distress, to self-harm or to harm others.

These items may be restricted but not excluded because they can be valuable tools in encouraging normalisation and resisting institutionalisation, providing rehabilitative, social, educational, recreational and diversionary value.

These items will be risk assessed.

Access to some restricted items is a necessary function of forensic inpatient services in order to facilitate aspects of patient treatment and rehabilitation. Patients will be preparing for safe transfer to care in the community; this requires increasing exposure to restricted items that may be freely available in the destination/setting. Individual risk assessments/mitigation plans will be completed.

Access to E-Cigarettes by inpatients will be permitted following a risk assessment and approval from the MDT and managed within the guidelines set out in “The use of e-cigarettes/vapes for inpatients to assist in the management of the Smokefree Policy”.

The use of mobile phones by inpatients within the secure areas will be permitted following risk assessment and approval from the MDT and managed within the guidelines outlined within the “Use of Mobile Phones by Patients on in-patient areas” SOP.

Please note that other than inpatients with access to mobile phones, no staff, visitors or professional visitors are permitted to enter the secure areas with a mobile phone.

Please see Contraband Items List (pdf) to download more information.

Annual Security Awareness Training is delivered to all the Forensic directorate staff, providing an understanding of, and leading to a wide range of discussions and ultimately maintaining safety for all.

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Some areas of the training include:

  • For staff to understand factors that influence the developments in security within your services

  • Appreciate the three main principles of security

  • “See Think Act” Relational security guidance

  • A patients perspective

  • Least restrictive practice

  • Social media safety awareness

  • The 7 warning signs of grooming

  • Therapeutic Boundaries 
  • Open discussions around security

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Effective relational security is critical to providing safe, purposeful and well-led services. See Think Act was first published by the Department of Health for medium secure care in 2010. In 2015, the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services along with Elizabeth Allen, the original author of the work, undertook a review with high, medium and low secure providers, patients and their friends and family, of what we’ve learned since the first publication.

The third edition has been published and more information can be found here.

If you would like more information please contact:

Wayne Harvey

Forensic Security Manager & EPRR Officer

Trust Head Quarters
St George’s Hospital
Corporation Street
Stafford
ST16 3AG

Telephone: 01785 257888

Click here to Email

Forensic Mental Health Contact Details

The Hatherton Centre

Phone numbers, fax and email

Address


St George's Hospital,
Corporation Street,
Stafford,
Staffordshire,
ST16 3SR