UK NEWS

PRIVATE CARE ON THE NHS FOR SICK GAZZA

SICK: Paul Gascoigne

Saturday February 23,2008

By Mark Blacklock

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(0)

TROUBLED football star Paul Gascoigne will try to battle his way back to fitness in a psychiatric intensive care unit.

In some ways it is not all that different from the luxury hotel that was Gascoigne’s home until this week.

Patients at the private facility, which caters almost exclusively for NHS patients, have ensuite bedrooms, a-la-carte menus and satellite television.

They also enjoy computer rooms, a well-equipped gym and other sports facilities.

And like Gascoigne’s former hotel suite, the unit also has its own team of dedicated staff.

But rather than bar staff, night porters and and waiters, it is highly-trained psychiatrists, occupational therapists and nurses who will now be looking after the tortured ex-footballer.

The health professionals will work with Gascoigne on a programme of therapy to tackle his mental-health problems.

The cost to the NHS is about £15,000 a month – double what Gascoigne was spending at the £240-a-night Malmaison hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Gascoigne – affectionately known as Gazza – is being cared for at Middleton St George Hospital, near Darlington, Co Durham. He was admitted to the unit after police detained him for his own safety under the Mental Health Act on Wednesday.

He had been living like a recluse in his hotel room where he boozed heavily, ordered raw liver, and carried plastic toy parrots everywhere.

The 40-year-old was thrown out after setting off the fire alarms early on Wednesday morning and then scuffling with a member of staff.

Gascoigne’s temporary new home provides secure intensive care for men and women. People admitted for assessment can be held for up to 28 days - and then detained if necessary for a further year.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said Gascoigne was admitted to the unit due to a shortage of bedspace at local NHS hospitals.

She said the average cost to the NHS of providing a psychiatric intensive care bed was £580 a day, or £3,696 a week.

Meanwhile, Gascoigne’s stepdaughter yesterday said that she hoped the troubled sportsman would be able to beat his demons.

Model and TV personality Bianca Gascoigne, 21, said: “I wish him all the best in his recovery. It is a sad situation that has had an impact on my family and he needs respect and privacy at this time to get back to good health.”

She admitted having lost contact with her stepfather recently but added: “My thoughts are with him.”