Rowanbank Clinic is not a prison and while some patients will have  committed an offence, a number of patients will be admitted directly from the community. Others will be admitted directly from court or transferred from prison for mental health assessment or treatment before the criminal justice process can continue.  Currently these patients are managed in a prison setting which is inappropriate.

Although Rowanbank Clinic will provide a West of Scotland service when it opens, the vast majority of patients will come from the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

A number of patients may be transferred from the State Hospital, this will only happen when it is clear that their illness is stable. Normally patients will have spent several years undergoing treatment at the State Hospital before they are well enough to be transferred.

In all circumstances a detailed assessment would be carried out before a decision is made to transfer a patient. This assessment would take into account the patient’s illness, their understanding of the illness and their potential risk to themselves or others.

Most patients will have a history of serious mental illness (schizophrenia or manic depressive illness) and will have been assessed as a risk or potential risk to others. This risk, however, will be significantly reduced when their illness is treated and they start to recover.