Revealed: mental health patients who reported ‘abuse' ignored by NHS

Patients and their families who reported allegations of abuse at a chain of mental health units did not even receive responses from the regulator and the NHS, The Independent can reveal.

- REBECCA THOMAS

An investigation by The Independent and Sky News last month exposed how "systemic abuse" went unchecked at hospitals run by The Huntercombe Group over a number of years.

Now more patients have come forward - bringing the total number of cases past 50- and shown how they tried to raise the alarm to the health service and Care Quality Commission, but say they were ignored while abuse continued. It can also be revealed that police are investigating the alleged rape of a child by a staff member in 2019. A report was made to Thames Valley police last month.

The Huntercombe Group is now facing legal claims from nine patients, dating back as far as 2003, who were treated at the Maidenhead hospital, now called Taplow Manor, in Berkshire. Allegations include using sedative medication as a form of control, excessive restraint, and inappropriate force used in relation to tube feeding. There are also further allegations of sexual abuse.

Mark McGhee, of Hutcheon Law, which is representing the patients, said: "With a number of clients. We have allegations of grooming and inappropriate touching, in relation to when restraint was being applied by males because all of the clients are female. It's systemic. It's over a very long period of time and what concerns me isn't just the hospital itself, but why nothing was done by some of the other agencies who were supposed to be monitoring what was going on. Why nothing was done to try to prevent some of this.

"The clients feel very let down by the bodies that placed their children at this hospital. They feel as though they didn't properly monitor or supervise what was going on. We know that they have relatively recently been discussions and reviews with CQC with NHS England and others. Yet, despite all of that, the families have not been able to see or being provided with any action plan or what's been going on."