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The NHS has been criticised for sending vulnerable patients to a children’s hospital despite receiving reports of more than 1,600 “sexual safety incidents” at the 59-bed unit.
A series of investigations by The Independent have exposed allegations of systemic abuse across a group of children’s hospitals run by the former Huntercombe Group. The latest revealed that a total of 1,643 “sexual safety incidents” had been reported in four years at its hospital in Maidenhead – accounting for more than half of all sex-related investigations reported in the 209 children’s mental health units across the country since 2019.
Despite the majority of these reports being made prior to 2022-23, the NHS did not take any action and only stopped using the hospital, also known as Taplow Manor, this year.
The private unit is now finally due to be closed after an investigation by The Independent revealed allegations of verbal and physical abuse, prompting the NHS to withdraw patients.
But leading mental health charity Mind has criticised the NHS for continuing to use the hospital, despite evidence of “catastrophic failings in physical and sexual safety” spanning several decades.
Gemma Byrne, head of health policy and campaigns at Mind, said in response to The Independent report on sexual incidents: “These horrific reports reveal the systemic scale of abuse and neglect in inpatient mental health settings. Even when patients bravely came forward to share their stories, some of which took place more than 10 years ago, young people continued to be sent to a unit which was known to have catastrophic failings in physical and sexual safety.”
She added: “Serious questions must be asked as to how this came to be, especially given that warnings were sent to the health service at a rate of over one a day since 2019. What happened to these young people is devastating, and something no one should ever experience.
“Mind stands with victims of abuse not just at Huntercombe and Taplow Manor, but around the country, and is here for anyone who needs support for their mental health.”
Taplow Manor, which is run by Active Care Group after it merged with The Huntercombe Group, is set to be closed in May. Active Care Group said it was forced to close after the NHS stopped admissions to the hospital following The Independent’s reports and safety concerns, flagged by the Care Quality Commission.
Thames Valley Police have launched an investigation into an alleged rape of a patient involving two staff members at the unit. The private provider revealed shortly after it hopes to reopen the hospital as an adult unit within months.
Although Taplow Manor is set to close the provider’s second children’s unit, Ivetsey Bank in Stafford is still open and NHS commissioners have admitted 16 children to the hospital since October, The Independent can reveal. Ivetsey Bank is also facing a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault of a patient in March.
The Department for Health and Social Care launched a “rapid review” of mental health services following reports about the Huntercombe Group by The Independent and Sky News and exposes by Panorama and Dispatches into NHS hospitals.
The review is set to only look at the data collected on inpatient mental health services but the DHSC said it has not ruled out further action.
A Labour spokesperson said: “These reports are appalling. Patients and their families rightly expect to be safe and treated with respect in mental health hospitals, but these disturbing reports suggest vulnerable children have been badly failed.
“Following numerous tragedies and many damning reports into mental health inpatient settings, Labour has long been calling for services to be reviewed. Any rapid review must have patient voices at its centre, and not simply be a data exercise, as ministers are currently planning. The Government must finally make patient safety a priority.”
A week after The Independent’s report on sexual incidents, Active Care Group claimed its submission of serious incident data to the NHS includes reports of abuse made by patients which may not have occurred on wards or may have occurred prior to admission. A spokesperson said higher reporting indicates a better reporting culture.
However, the sexual safety incident data is separate and collected within figures for “restrictive practices” in mental health wards.
According to guidelines for the data set figures refers to “the total number of sexual safety incidents that occurred in the reporting period”. Guidance for those interpreting the figures is listed as “lower is better.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS has repeatedly made clear that all services must provide safe, high-quality care, irrespective of whether they are NHS or independent sector-led, and we continue to work closely with the CQC to monitor, identify and take appropriate action where it is needed.”
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