Displaying items by tag: patient abuse

Thursday, 29 September 2022 22:15

'Toxic culture' of abuse at NHS hospital

An undercover reporter worked inside the Edenfield Centre caring for people held under the Mental Health Act who are at serious risk of harming themselves or others. With a hidden camera, he filmed staff swearing at patients, taunting and mocking them in vulnerable situations - when they were undressing - and joking about their self-harm. Patients were being unnecessarily restrained as well as being slapped or pinched by staff on some occasions. Some female staff acted in a sexualised way towards male patients. Ten patients were being held in small seclusion rooms, designed for short-term isolation to prevent immediate harm, for days, weeks or even months, with only brief breaks. Patient observations, a crucial safety measure, were being regularly missed, and records falsified. Seven members of staff were seen sleeping on shift. A consultant psychiatrist said the footage showed a ‘toxic culture’ among staff of ‘corruption, perversion, aggression, hostility, and lack of boundaries’, which were undermining patient recovery.

Published in British Isles