A major exposé into the care of British mental health patients and allegations of systemic abuse in inpatient units has resulted in a call for an urgent public inquiry by the government.
A joint investigation by Sky News and The Independent found that teenagers at facilities run by The Huntercombe Group had been left with post-traumatic stress disorder by their treatment, despite hundreds of warnings to regulators and the NHS.
The youngsters said the treatment, including the use of “painful” restraints and being held down for hours by male nurses, being stopped from going outside for months and living in wards with blood-stained walls. They also allege they were given so much medication they had become “zombies” and were force-fed.
But despite reports to police and regulators dating back seven years, and findings by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that the units were inadequate, the NHS has still handed Huntercombe nearly £190m since 2015-16 to admit children to its mental health beds.
The CQC is also conducting a criminal investigation after police launched their own investigation into the death of a young girl within the Huntercombe Hospital, Maidenhead in February.
Now the government is facing calls to review all mental healthcare services over fears that these cases are “the tip of the iceberg”.
Labour’s shadow mental health minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan has called for a “rapid review” into inpatient mental health services, while Deborah Coles, the chief executive of charity Inquest, has called on the new Health Secretary Steve Barclay to launch a statutory public inquiry.
The Independent reported allegations by 22 patients of “systemic abuse” within children’s mental health hospitals managed by The Huntercombe Group, which has run at least six children’s mental health hospitals since 2012 and 2022.
The Department of Health & Social Care said it had initiated an inquiry into the allegations by the young women, but did not share any specific details.
After the announcement of the inquiry, more patients have come forward with allegations of poor care.
Coles said: “The staggering, shocking thing about the investigation was that all of these warnings went unheard (and) didn’t trigger that response. It’s an absolutely horrific example of a systemic problem.
“I think it requires a far broader public inquiry to ensure we actually uncover what is going on behind the closed doors of these institutions. They are acting almost with impunity, and they are not subjected to robust monitoring and inspection. We need a statutory public inquiry into mental health services, deaths, and the serious harms going on within these places.”
The Centre for Mental Health has called for “reform” of the system, which it says “creates the conditions for abuse and mistreatment to happen”.
Andy Bell, deputy chief executive at the charity, said: “Mental health inpatient services should be a safe, respectful and compassionate place for people of all ages. Sadly that’s not always the case. We need to reform the system that creates the conditions for abuse and mistreatment.
“The government must continue to fund improvements to mental health services … modernise the Mental Health Act to ensure coercion is used as little and as fairly as possible. And the NHS locally must ensure the services it pays for are safe and effective.”
In a letter to the new Health Secretary, shared with The Independent and Sky News, Allin-Khan said: “The report into the treatment of young women at inpatient units run by The Huntercombe Group was extremely distressing.
“Patients, and their families, rightly expect to be safe in inpatient settings. It is incredibly distressing to hear of the excessive use of restraint and the conditions in which patients were kept. With patients suffering from PTSD as a result of their treatment, the long-term impact of their experiences cannot be ignored.”
She said the investigation was particularly “alarming” coming weeks after an exposé by Panorama, which highlighted abuses in the Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, and a Dispatches report into failings across Essex mental health hospitals.
Allin-Khan has written to former Health Secretary Therese Coffey twice since the end of September about the issues, however, she did not receive a response.
Active Care Group took over the remaining Huntercombe hospitals in December 2021. In response to The Independent’s investigation, Dr Sylvia Tang, chief executive of Active Care Group, said most of the alleged incidents date from before the group took over ownership.
She added: “Even so, we are very concerned to hear about these patient experiences, as the wellbeing, health and safety of our patients has always been, and continues to be, our top priority.”
The former owners of The Huntercombe Group, now called Eli Investments, said: “We regret these hospitals and specialist care services, which were owned and independently managed by The Huntercombe Group, failed to meet the expected standards for high-quality care.
“The Huntercombe Group was sold in March 2021 and the 12 hospitals and specialist care services that were the subject of that sale are now part of the Active Care Group.”
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