{"id":464449,"date":"2026-03-08T15:39:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T15:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/464449\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T15:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T15:39:33","slug":"dementia-ward-where-people-were-doped-up-is-part-of-wider-breakdown-in-patient-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/464449\/","title":{"rendered":"Dementia ward where people were doped up is part of wider ‘breakdown’ in patient safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stobhill Hospital faces calls for “wider” inquiry after unprescribed opiate painkillers were given to dementia patients<\/p>\n

A dementia ward <\/a>where old people were \u201cdoped up\u201d with unprescribed painkillers is part of a wider \u201cbreakdown\u201d in patient safety.<\/p>\n

The claim was made by Labour\u2019s mental health spokesman Paul Sweeney, as he vowed to take up the case with SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray.<\/p>\n

The Daily Record revealed on Saturday how patients at the Jura Ward at Stobhill<\/a> Hospital, Glasgow, were given unprescribed opiates – which one family claimed turned their elderly dad to a \u201czombie\u201d.<\/p>\n

The conduct of staff at the ward is now being investigated in a Serious Adverse Event Review.<\/p>\n

But Glasgow MSP Sweeney claims there is now evidence of \u201ca wider breakdown in patient safety\u201d at Stobhill.<\/p>\n

He claims there was another similar scandal at Skye House unit at Stobhill Hospital, where young patients were sedated against their will by nurses<\/p>\n

Sweeney has now demanded an emergency meeting with health chiefs to discuss patient safety at the hospital.<\/p>\n

He spoke out after the Record highlighted the case of George Maguire, 91, who was found to have been given unprescribed opiates, which only came to light after a blood test at another hospital, where a doctor was alarmed at his treatment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

George Maguire’s family were outraged at his sudden deterioration, which left him like a “zombie” and led to serious falls <\/p>\n

Sweeney said: \u201cI\u2019m absolutely shocked to hear about this latest incident of unprescribed opiate \u2018doping\u2019 of elderly patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst there\u2019s a Serious Adverse Event Review in process at the health board, this speaks to a wider culture of systemic mistreatment and lack of care by the health board, particularly in relation to the wards of Stobhill Hospital, which tend to treat people suffering from addictions, mental health problems or who are elderly and need support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already heard in recent months about the scandal at Skye House, about young people who were mistreated there, including being sedated against their will.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are similarities here, where we see old people being apparently sedated with high strength opiates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney said the circumstances described in the Daily Record speak to wider issues of understaffing, high staff turnover and poor workforce planning.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cClearly there has been a breakdown in systems of patient safety here. I will be seeking to raise this with the Health Secretary as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we await the results of the review, we should have a wider look at mistreatment and poor patient care at Stobhill Hospital, to restore the confidence of the public in this facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly something has gone very badly wrong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

George, pictured with wife Margaret and daughters Maureen and Kathleen in Blackpool just two months earlier<\/p>\n

The Record revealed that former upholsterer and amateur boxer George Maguire, who suffers from dementia, was found to have been pumped with strong and addictive opiates, despite his family saying no such treatment had been prescribed by doctors.<\/p>\n

George\u2019s situation only came to light after he suffered falls and was transferred to Glasgow\u2019s Royal Infirmary, where analysis of his blood revealed the presence of the unprescribed drugs.<\/p>\n

His family claim a doctor at the Royal said he could have died within days if the inappropriate medication had continued.<\/p>\n

Veronica Gray, director of policy at the Hourglass charity, which campaigns against mistreatment of old people, said she was shocked at the mistreatment that has come to light.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWe are shocked to learn of the dreadful experience of patients in the Jura Ward for older people at Stobhill Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cInappropriate use of medication is a serious issue with potentially fatal effects, as seen in previous cases of this type. \u201cIt is an outrage that vulnerable, sick older people are subjected to this type of abuse within a hospital – a supposed care setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome the fact that an investigation has commenced, and as we await the findings.\u201d<\/p>\n

An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesperson said: \u201cWe can confirm an investigation has been launched into a concerning incident involving a small number of inpatients within one ward at Stobhill Hospital. The safety and well-being of patients in our care is our top priority, and we are deeply sorry for the understandable distress this has caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google\u2019s preferred sources. Click HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stobhill Hospital faces calls for “wider” inquiry after unprescribed opiate painkillers were given to dementia patients A dementia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[2505,679,102,2960,2053,24716,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-464449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-drugs","tag-glasgow","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-labour-party","tag-scottish-national-party","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}