A MENTAL health patient was asked to travel nearly 500 miles for treatment.

The unidentified person was among 1,000 patients sent out-with their health board for treatment in the past three years, according to new figures from the Scottish Conservatives.

The Glaswegian was asked to travel 480 miles to Tavistock in Devon, and to parts of London, the research revealed.

In total, 1,007 mental health patients suffering from conditions such as eating disorders, severe depression and learning disabilities were asked to travel “out of area”, the equivalent of 17 a week.

Highland was the health board with the largest number of transfers at 295, followed by NHS Fife at 229.

Tory mental health spokeswoman Annie Wells said: “There will always be cases when it’s in the patient’s best interests to be sent elsewhere for treatment.

“But the scale of these figures suggests some health boards in Scotland just aren’t equipped to deal with a range of conditions.

“All sides of the political debate in Scotland agree that mental health should have a parity of esteem with physical health. But if that’s to be the case, people need to be able to rely on their own health board.” 

The figures came from a Freedom of  Information request from the Scottish Conservatives.