NHS scandal reveals ‘sexual assaults’ on mental patients

A ‘national scandal’ of sexual abuse of patients inside psychiatric wards at mental health hospitals run by Britain’s National Health System (NHS) could emerge as thousands of sexual assaults and incidents are reported.

According to a joint investigation by The Independent and Sky News and exclusive figures revealed in the podcast, there have been almost 20,000 reports of sexual incidents in more than half of NHS mental health trusts over the past five years.

After the dramatic story of a woman’s escape after being sexually assaulted in hospital appeared on a podcast, Patient 11, shocking findings revealed that NHS trusts failed to report most incidents to the police and the UK does not meet important standards designed to protect the most vulnerable patients from sexual harm.

During the 18-month investigation, a number of patients and their families spoke to The Independent about their stories of sexual abuse and abuse during their time in mental health units.

Rivka Grant, 34, was sexually assaulted by a member of NHS staff, while Stephanie Totti, 28, made similar allegations.

Former GB swimming star Alexis Quinn alleged that she was sexually assaulted twice, once when she was forced to sleep in a male ward and once in a mixed male and female ward.

The president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Laude Smith, described the findings as ‘appalling’, while shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said it was a ‘wake-up call’ for the government.

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Some of the key revelations are as follows:

Between 2019 and November 2023, at least 19,899 incidents were reported across more than 30 NHS trusts – involving patients being sexually assaulted by staff and patients being sexually assaulted by other patients.

The figures show that only 982 – less than five per cent – ​​of sexual incidents reported to hospitals during the same period were referred to the police.

800 allegations of rape and aggravated assault on women.

Despite being banned a decade ago, joint wards for men and women still exist in NHS mental health centers and more than 500 reports of sexual assault have been received since 2019.

Only six of the 50 hospitals were able to prove they were meeting NHS standards aimed at protecting patients from sexual harm.

Dr Smith told The Independent: ‘Sexual violence has no place in society, which has a profound and lasting negative impact on people’s lives. Today’s alarming findings show that there is still more to be done to ensure that patients and staff in mental health trusts are protected from sexual harm at all times.

‘It is very disturbing to see that so few incidents in the mental health environment go unreported.’

Miss Streeting said: ‘It would shock any decent person that these horrific crimes were committed against patients who were the most vulnerable. The reality is that these have happened in the NHS.

Very serious questions must be immediately asked of the leaders of the hospitals, who must explain why most of these incidents were concealed from the police.

‘The Conservative Party promised to end mixed-sex wards in 2010, but patients are still treated in front of patients of the opposite sex. Patients often find it humiliating and this research shows that it makes women in particular feel unsafe in hospital.’

“The Government should take this investigation as a ‘wake-up call’ and take action today against the growing number of mixed-sex wards in the NHS.”

Former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird said attacks by people who were supposed to care for vulnerable people were particularly disturbing.

He said, ‘The results of this investigation are a national scandal. By staff on patients [حملوں کے اعداد و شمار] There are extreme concerns because it could mean that people coming into hospitals are being screened inadequately.

‘These are left to the most vulnerable people, whose testimony cannot be trusted. When they say something.’

Sharon Brennan from National Voices said the cases brought to light by The Independent were ‘one of the worst breaches of trust we have heard of’.

Our latest revelation comes as the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch prepares to launch a national inquiry into mental health care in England following several reports by The Independent over the past year.

Freedom of Information data shows patients are threatened by staff at a number of hospitals, with more than 300 incidents reported over a five-year period.

Recalling her experience, Grant described how she was sexually assaulted by a member of NHS staff at Chase Farm Hospital in north London in 2016. They claimed that the staff initially ignored them.

He said he was then forced to sleep in the same room the next night, even though a complaint was lodged with the trust and the staff member was suspended.

Grant says her trauma was compounded when she was moved to a mixed ward, where she was afraid to leave her room because of the male patients outside.

He said, ‘Since then I have been traumatized and I [ذہنی صحت کی سروسز سے] Afraid to ask for help. When I feel bad, I don’t know where to turn. When you are in the hospital, you believe you are safe. I have learned that there is no safety in mental health hospitals.’

Her attacker was convicted in June 2017 following a police investigation. The North London Mental Health Partnership, which now runs Chase Farm Hospital, said it was ‘deeply sorry’ for what happened to Miss Grant and stressed that the safety of its customers was its top priority.

In another alleged case, mother-of-two Tutti told The Independent her harrowing story after seeking help from Essex Mental Health Services.

She claims that instead of treatment, a staff member subjected her to horrific sexual abuse for five months.

She says she was traumatized again a year later after entering another unit in Essex, where a security guard sent her sexually suggestive text messages, seen by The Independent.

Police later said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the alleged sexual abuse.

The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, which is currently facing a public inquiry into the deaths of 2,000 patients, declined to answer The Independent’s questions about the serious allegations.

Our investigation shows that at least 500 sexual assaults and incidents have been recorded in mixed-sex wards within trusts since 2019.

Miss Quinn, a former swimming star and teacher, sought help from mental health services after her brother’s death in 2013 and was admitted to Littlebrook Hospital in Kent.

She claims she was sexually assaulted by a male patient within hours of her admission.

They claimed that they immediately ran to tell staff who tried to send them back to the ward where their attacker was. Then kept in solitary confinement.

Quinn said: ‘You know, I blame the system for putting me in this situation, for not protecting me – it’s a system problem. I thought it was just me, but it’s just me, it’s thousands.’

The trust eventually apologized. However, within a few months she was again transferred to the mixed-sex ward, where she alleged that she was the victim of a second assault.

Kent and Medway Partnership Trust, which runs the hospital, said it had a ‘sincere apology’ for the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ it had encountered during care at its centre, and that a full investigation and action had been taken. was

As part of our investigation, The Independent and Sky News uncovered thousands of allegations of sexual incidents, ranging from abuse and rape, in more than 30 of the NHS’s 52 mental health trusts since 2019. Including sexually inappropriate behavior or language.

The scandal is likely to be even bigger because the figures do not include private hospitals to which hundreds of NHS patients are referred each year.

One of them was Nima Cass Hunt, who was abused at the age of 16 at a Hundercombe Group hospital.

Her abuser, care worker Marcus Daniels, was jailed for 11 years in 2020 for his crimes. Miss Hunt warned that understaffed mental health services were failing to protect patients.

He said, ‘No one in the hospital saw or heard any obvious symptoms. There is something wrong with the protocols that mental health hospitals have in place to keep patients safe when patients are sexually abused despite obvious symptoms, signs and even disclosures.’

The former owners of the hospital, Alley Investments, were contacted for comment.

Melanie Leahy told The Independent that staff at Essex failed to investigate her son Matthew’s claims of rape when he was being treated in 2012 and died two days later.

He said, ‘I believe he lost his life due to this incident. I believe that this incident led to the death of my son.’

A 2019 report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found that staff failed to take appropriate action in response to their allegations. In response, the trust said it offers its condolences on Matthew’s death.

Meanwhile, in 2014, Gaia Pope, a teenage rape victim, complained of sexual harassment on a mixed-sex ward at a Dorset NHS hospital but staff failed to issue a safety alert.

His cousin Marna Pope Weidman said: ‘I believe that [ان کے خدشات کو دور کرنے میں] Failures directly cause his death. They took no action and they did it without anyone [مدد] Sent home after 24 hours.

Dorset Healthcare chief executive Matthew Bryant said the trust recognizes it should have done more to ensure Gaia felt safe.

In 2020, when the Care Quality Commission raised national concerns about sexual abuse in mental health services, the NHS set out guidelines under its ‘Sexual Protection Partnership’.

Despite the known risks, NHS trusts are not meeting the standard to date, with only six hospitals providing evidence that they meet the guidelines.

Gemma Byrne, policy and campaigns manager at the charity Mind, said the findings of the investigation were ‘appalling’ and called for greater accountability for trusts that failed to deal with such serious incidents of sexual protection.

Professor Charlie Brooker, one of the few academics in the UK who has examined the link between sexual assault and mental illness, told The Independent and Sky News that there should be research into sexual safety in mental health wards. .

He said: ‘It will be interesting to see how many people come forward to provide evidence. I would be surprised if it wasn’t several thousand.’

Professor Brooker said: ‘Sexual trauma is a major factor in the development of mental illness. What is happening to these vulnerable people, these vulnerable women, is the re-traumatization that is happening in an environment where they should be protected. When they enter, their condition is worse than before.

Ally Investments, owned by the Huntercombe Group, said it was ‘disappointed’ by the allegations and regretted that hospitals owned by the group had failed to meet the standards expected for high-quality care.

NHS England has said that sexual assault will not be tolerated and is introducing better reporting mechanisms and training for staff in its new NHS Sexual Protection Charter.

It says all trusts must appoint a head of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

However, it did not specify how it will monitor trusts and hold accountable those that fail to meet its new guidelines.

The Department of Health and Social Care said NHS organizations have a responsibility to protect both staff and patients.