HOSPITAL bosses have been told to carry out an immediate review of security after children escaped from a ward at Glasgow's newest hospital.

Dodgy doors at the Royal Hospital for Children's National Child Inpatient Unit allowed youngsters who have mental health problems to "evade security" and access restricted areas.

In a small number of cases children were also able to leave the ward through closed doors.

Details of the faulty fixtures were revealed by watchdogs who inspected the facility, which treats children aged five to 12 years old, at the £842m Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

They have now ordered a complete review of the ward's security and said it was vital that an "appropriate balance is achieved between safety and security and accessibility by patients and their families."

Officials from the Mental Welfare Commission visited the ward on October 26 2016 and discovered the problems with the doors at the new purpose-built facility.

Staff told them children are being watched more often until the problem with the doors is fixed, and sometimes the unit's outer doors can cause problems for visitors getting in and out.

Watchdogs also found that the ward didn't have enough space for all the children to come together as a group to do group activities, and the art room wasn't large enough for all kids to use at once.

Given the problems the young patients have, many of which include social problems, inspectors said this lack of space was "significant".

In the report released yesterday, the MWC pointed out a problem with the sprinkler system in the unit had not been dealt with despite being highlighted in their previous inspection 12 months before.

The report stated: "Last year we were told by staff that the ward’s sprinkler system has fittings which protrude from every ceiling and are designed so that any physical contact with any one fitting will

result in the whole sprinkler system being activated within the ward.

"There were concerns that children could throw shoes or other objects at the fittings and result in the activation of the sprinkler system throughout the entire ward.

Health board bosses are understood to have arranged for the problem to be fixed in the next few months.

Watchdogs also carried out unannounced inspections at private mental health facility The Priory, NHS-run Skye House and the Ailsa Ward at Stobhill Hospital.

They made a number of recommendations, including reviewing the level of activities available for patients and improved documentation.

Stephen McLeod, Head of Specialist Children's Services, said: “We welcome this report and the positive comments made by the inspectors.

“I am pleased the report highlights the high quality, comprehensive care plans which have a clear child-centred and family-orientated focus.

“I’m also encouraged that the inspectors found the ease of use of the care planning documentation to be of a higher quality than last year.

“The inspectors drew attention to discussions with patients and family members, where they commended staff for good communication and including families in their child’s care.

“I’m delighted family members confirmed their views were listened to by clinical staff and taken into account when decisions are made about their child’s care. We have developed a number of systems designed to actively promote participation of children and their carers in treatment.

“We have reassured the inspectors that actions are being undertaken to prevent children being able to exit he ward through a closed door. Staff have identified improvements that can be made to the outer doors and these will be made as soon as possible. In the meantime, children are being monitored as necessary.

“Senior managers and clinicians have begun a review into the use of space in ward 4 with a view to increasing the amount of therapeutic group work space. This will be implemented by this summer.”