Vandals target Udston hospital

Oct 22 2009 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

VANDALS have caused more than £4000 worth of damage at a Hamilton hospital.

Eight windows have been broken in the last few weeks at Udston Hospital, which cares for more than 100 elderly patients on site and employs 120 staff.

Children have climbed onto the hospital’s roof and removed tiles and a fire was started against a corridor linking the community mental health building and a portable cabin.

A fence at the back of the grounds and a fire alarm were also damaged..

NHS Lanarkshire also pointed out this week that young people have also been standing at the entrance during the evening and deliberately blocking visitors’ cars.

The health board’s Hamilton Locality General Manager Geoff Sage said: “The worry is that a patient or member of staff could be seriously injured either from broken glass or from an object that has been thrown through a window.

“The people responsible for the damage are risking their own safety too, especially by climbing onto buildings.

“We have staff providing services for very dependent older people in the hospital and community, Macmillan staff working with the terminally ill, and staff working with the most vulnerable families in our community. This constant assault is extremely demoralising for them.

“Many of the patients and visitors at the hospital are elderly and these incidents are very intimidating for them.

“We had problems during the light summer nights with groups of young people in the evening. There have been warmer evenings recently and this seems to have led to them hanging around the hospital grounds again.”

As a result of the incidents, NHS Lanarkshire have increased security in the hospital grounds but stressed that the situation was a drain on the budget.

Mr Sage said: “Unfortunately, every penny we spend on repairing or preventing the damage is money that we do not have to spend on services for patients. We would be very grateful for the support and vigilance of the local community. You can help us by raising awareness of the risks of vandalism at the hospital and by reporting any incidents to the police or contacting them if you know who is responsible.”

Hamilton police described the incidents as “galling” and pointed out that officers had been working with the force’s partners in a bid to tackle the matter.

Inspector Fraser Lamb of Hamilton Police office said this week: “Incidents of youth disorder and vandalism often increase during periods of school holidays.

“We have increased patrols in the area and by linking in with youth agencies such as Liber8 we can stamp out this type of crime, which causes such misery to people.”