Airedale Hospital has had its knuckles rapped by a watchdog for keeping mentally ill patients in seclusion for too long.

According to the Mental Health Commissioners, there were 56 episodes of seclusion lasting between 15 minutes and 64 hours between March and September last year. Of those, 25 periods were accounted for by three patients.

Patients, including those suffering drug and alcohol abuse, are placed in seclusion to be assessed while they wait for a bed at a secure ward in Leeds or Bradford.

But Airedale General's chief executive Bob Allen has hit back, saying the hospital doesn't have the resources to look after mentally ill people as well as he would like.

And Airedale Community Health Council has defended the hospital, saying it is working under difficult circumstances.

In their annual report, Mental Health Commissioners said in total patients were secluded for more than 110 hours between March and September 1998.

The commissioners said: "The significant use of the seclusion room should concern hospital staff, particularly as there had been few, if any, seclusions in the period before the last commission visit."

But Mr Allen has told commissioners, who visited the Steeton hospital last September, that it does not have enough resources for the mentally ill. It wants more cash to build a special mental health unit which would free beds for medical and surgery cases.

Mr Allen said: "There needs to be new purpose-designed wards to replace the present situation where general hospital wards have been adapted for mental and are not adequate for patients with mental health problems."

He said there were not enough beds and there was insufficient access to secure beds because secure wards for disturbed patients were often full in Leeds and Bradford. Some patients had to be sent to Sheffield and York.

Judith Gay, of Bradford and Airedale Mental Health Advocacy Group, said the hospital was doing its best under the circumstances. John Godward, Airedale Community Health Council chief officer, said he was surprised the secure unit had been used so much. But he added: "It is easy to condemn the hospital but staff are doing it because of the circumstances -- there is a lack of proper provision."

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