NHS to Offer Treatment for Stalkers

Stalkers in Britain can now get some help after an NHS trust announced that it will be opening the world’s first clinic which aims to treat stalkers. The National Stalking Clinic (NSC) will be run by the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust and will be opened this Thursday. The trust revealed that modern technology has seen a spike in the number of stalking cases with over 20 percent of women and 10 percent of men falling victim to stalking, which often results in murder, rape and sexual assault.

The NSC will be opened in Chase Farm and initially it will treat stalkers based on referrals from courts. One of the NSC founders and a consultant psychiatrist, Dr Frank Farnham said that it will cost between £1,500 and £2,000 for assessing a stalker and revealed that the amount will be paid by the courts.

Dr Farnham said that the cost is comparable to what private psychologists would charge the courts for a report and added that if further treatment is needed, then the clinic will provide a 18 month course for £7,000 to £10,000. He went on to add that the treatment was far more cost effective than placing the stalker in jails as not only the average cost of a year spent in jail is high (at £45,000), but usually the stalker comes out without being treated.

“If we can treat stalkers, then we can save lives. There is great need for a co-ordinated national service that can provide specialist advice and treatment”, he said.

Source-Medindia