Police are investigating allegations that vulnerable patients were harassed, humiliated and verbally abused by staff at one of the UK’s largest hospitals. National Health Service mental health hospitals.
Staff were apparently filmed taunting, slapping and pinching patients at the Edenfield center near Manchester during a BBC Panorama undercover investigation.
The Undercover Hospital: Patients at Risk program, airing Wednesday night, reported that vulnerable adults were inappropriately restrained and confined in small confinement units, designed for short-term isolation, for weeks or months with only brief breaks.
Dr. Cleo Van Velsen, a consultant psychiatrist, said the undercover footage showed a “toxic culture” among staff of “corruption, perversion, aggression, hostility, lack of boundaries”.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it had launched an investigation and was reviewing Panorama footage to identify the offenders.
The allegations reportedly involve 40 patients and 25 staff members, more than a dozen of whom have been suspended.
The Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Edenfield centre, said it was taking the allegations “very seriously” and had taken “immediate action to protect patient safety”.
Michaela Kerr, director of GMP’s public protection department, said: “It goes without saying that these allegations are worrying. Since they came to our attention, we have been working with partner agencies to ensure the protection of vulnerable people.
“We also obtained the information required to open criminal investigations, and investigations are ongoing to ensure all crimes are recorded and those involved are identified.”
Staff were filmed using demeaning language when talking to patients about their bodies. This was often passed off as a joke, but patients said they felt intimidated and dehumanized.
A 22-year-old patient, who had stopped eating and drinking in the past because she believed she was overweight, said staff had called her “fat” before claiming they were joking.
The footage shows a nurse apparently refusing to check on her after she attempted suicide, while members of staff laughed and joked: “[She’s] just crying”, and “if he cut his throat you would know” because “he would tell everyone”.
A support worker was filmed humiliating another patient by having to be supervised by her while going to the bathroom.
On another occasion, the patient sat on the lap of the same support worker, who said, “If you fart, I’ll kill you.” The support worker then removed the patient’s clothing and repeatedly slapped her bare skin. A senior nurse, who was among those watching, laughed and scoffed as the patient was slapped.
Dr. Van Velsen, a consultant psychiatrist, said the staff members acted “like a gang, not like a group of health professionals.”
“It goes against any policy I’ve seen on restraint in doing this,” he said.
The trust said: “We are working closely with local and national partners, including the NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and Greater Manchester Police to ensure the safety of these services. We will cooperate fully with all investigations.
“We owe it to our patients, their families and caregivers, the public and our staff that these allegations are fully investigated to ensure we provide the best care, every day, for all the communities we serve.”
