NHS chiefs admit patient abuse could STILL be happening

Mental health bosses quizzed on action taken after brutal treatment of vulnerable people was revealed in documentary

- Helena Vesty

MENTAL health bosses could not say whether the kind of abuse uncovered in one in-patient psychiatric facility is still happening across Greater Manchester's mental health services.

The Manchester Evening News has spent months reporting on serious issues at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), including harrowing treatment of vulnerable people at inpatient facilities caught on camera.

One of GMMH's in-patient facilities, the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich, became a focus for scrutiny after an explosive BBC Panorama programme was aired.

Some staff were filmed by an undercover Panorama reporter embedded in the unit from March to June of 2022. The footage appeared to show patients being bullied, humiliated, swore at and taunted by some members of staff.

But more than a year after the episode was aired in September 2022, trust bosses say it is 'difficult to know' whether that behaviour from staff towards patients has been fully eradicated because they would have to have 'eyes and ears everywhere!

After the episode came to light, the trust was plunged into the highest levels of oversight by the NHS, and was told to improve by health watchdogs, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and independent investigations alike. The overall rating for the trust itself now stands at 'inadequate, as of a new CQC report carried out in 2023.

But, after more than a year of numerous pledges of progress, half the improvements the trust promised are 'not progressing to plan' and actually getting worse. At the trust's latest board meeting at the end of November, papers revealed how key areas for improvement like 'ligature risk management, 'safeguarding, and 'sexual safety' have been classed as 'deteriorating!