A MENTALLY-ILL patient was this week put in a police cell - the second woman to fall victim to a shortage of secure beds at a Basingstoke hospital.

Officers were called to Parklands on Wednesday afternoon after the patient, a middle-aged woman who has not been named, caused minor damage at the hospital.

The woman was arrested at 4pm but because Parklands did not have a secure bed for her, she was put into a custody cell at Basingstoke police station.

The woman's ordeal has shocked Basingstoke mum Janice Oldham who went through a similar ordeal.

Mrs Oldham, a former Parklands patient, was kept in a police cell for three days after she threatened to set fire to herself outside the hospital last month.

She told The Gazette: "It is disgusting that it has happened to another person. It was not good for me. I was not a criminal but I felt like one.

"It was very frightening as the other people the police were bringing in were criminals. There was a lot of yelling and swearing and constant noise.

"The police were fine but the worst part was the uncertainty. I did not know when I was going to get out."

The woman involved in the latest ordeal was left in the cell, under close supervision by two police officers, for almost 21 hours before a team came from Parklands to assess her needs.

Chief Inspector Steve James, of Basingstoke police, told The Gazette: "The police station is not a place for a mentally-ill patient.

"While I can appreciate that there may be problems within the mental health service, people deserve to have better treatment than they are currently receiving.

"My resources are currently being tied up in guarding this person instead of looking after the community."

Custody sergeant Michael Hart said the woman was unhappy, and then revealed his own frustration.

He said: "It shouldn't be the case that we have to take officers off the streets to look after mental health patients from Parklands because they don't have the staff.

"Parklands was supposed to send a Rapid Assessment Team, but they have not been very rapid considering she was brought in at 4pm yesterday."

A spokesperson for Surrey Hampshire Borders NHS Trust, which runs Parklands, said that the Mental Health Act allows individuals to be kept in a safe place, like a police cell, for 72 hours so that he or she can be assessed and moved to an appropriate place.

He added: "Unfortunately, there is limited national availability of dedicated placements for people who have complex needs and who require assessment and treatment in a secure setting.

"The local NHS organisations recognise the need to improve timely access to secure provision for residents of the area and have been working together to ensure that this is available in the future."

Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter has said he is concerned about both cases and would be taking them up with Parklands bosses.