Police are investigating claims that vulnerable patients were harassed, humiliated and verbally abused by staff at one of the UK’s largest NHS mental health hospitals.
Staff were apparently filmed taunting, slapping and pinching patients at the Edenfield centre, near Manchester, during an undercover BBC Panorama investigation.
The program Undercover Hospital: Patients at Risk, due to air on Wednesday night, reported that vulnerable adults were inappropriately restrained and held in small isolation units, designed for short-term isolation term, for weeks or months with only short breaks.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Cleo Van Velsen said the undercover shooting showed a “toxic culture” among staff of “corruption, perversion, aggression, hostility and a lack of boundaries”.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it had launched an investigation and was reviewing Panorama footage to identify the offenders.
The allegations were reported to involve 40 patients and 25 staff, more than a dozen of whom have been suspended.
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS 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, head of public protection at GMP, said: “It goes without saying that these allegations are concerning. Since they were brought to our attention, we have been working with partner agencies to ensure vulnerable people are safeguarded.
“We have also obtained the information necessary to open criminal investigations and inquiries are ongoing to ensure all offenses are recorded and those involved are identified.”
Staff were filmed using degrading language when talking to patients about their bodies. It was often passed off as a joke, but patients said they felt harassed 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 had been joking.
Footage shows a nurse apparently refusing to check on her after she tried to kill herself, while staff laugh and joke: “[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 for having to be supervised by her while she went to the toilet.
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On another occasion, the patient sat on the same support worker’s lap, who said: “If you ask, I will really kill you.” The support worker then removed the patient’s clothing and repeatedly slapped her bare skin. A senior nurse, who was among the onlookers, laughed and jeered as the patient was slapped.
Dr Van Velsen, a consultant psychiatrist, said the staff acted “like a band, not a group of health professionals”.
“It goes against any policy I’ve ever seen about moderation in doing this,” he said.
The trust said: “We are working closely with local and national partners including NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and Greater Manchester Police to ensure the safety of these services. We will co-operate fully with all investigations.
“We owe it to our patients, their families and carers, 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.”