Revealed: hospital accused of abusing children to shut

NHS mental health unit to close following claims of 'brutal' treatment of young patients first revealed by this publication

- REBECCA THOMAS

A hospital where staff allegedly physically abused patients is set to close as parents come forward describing the “brutal” treatment of their children, The Independent can reveal.

Joyce Parker Hospital, a children’s mental health unit run by Cygnet Health Care in Coventry, will shut following allegations by the national care watchdog, first highlighted by this publication, that staff were found dragging patients across the floor.

Parents of children who are in the unit, whose care is NHSfunded, have been told this week that Cygnet Health Care intends to shut and reopen the hospital for adults just weeks later. Multiple patients and parents have come forward with allegations of poor care since The Independent’s exposé in August.

“From day one, it’s been really brutal,” said the mother of a teenage girl still in the hospital. “She [daughter] was covered in bruises. She was really distressed. I keep thinking this is my child, who is really unwell, and you trust people will look after her. She’s been pushed against walls, had her arms put around the back, she’s been put on the floor. My daughter is so much worse than she was when she got there.”

The closure comes after The Independent revealed a leaked letter from the Care Quality Commission to the hospital warning inspectors had allegedly found CCTV footage from May of staff dragging children across the floor while restraining them.

The watchdog told Cygnet Health Care it was concerned that the evidence suggested physical abuse of the patients while staff were restraining them. Cygnet Healthcare said it “strongly refutes” the CQC’s claims of abuse.