National Safety Review Ordered For English Mental Health Facilities

Healthcare National Safety Review Ordered For English Mental Health Facilities Katherine Hignett Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about U. K.

health policy. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Oct 2, 2022, 10:38am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Patients experienced serious abuse at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwhich, Manchester.

getty The director for mental health care in England has ordered a country-wide safety review following evidence of patient abuse at a public inpatient hospital. National Health Service Director of Mental Health Claire Murdoch called for the review after a BBC documentary showed evidence of bullying and inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich, Manchester. An undercover journalist recorded footage of staff verbally abusing, humiliating, slapping and pinching patients at the facility.

They also revealed patients were being placed in secluded rooms for long periods of time for innapropriate reasons. The documentary has prompted a criminal investigation by Greater Manchester Police. Murdoch called the behaviour “heartbreaking and shameful” in a letter seen by HSJ .

She wrote that hospital trusts should ‘leave no stone unturned’ in finding and eliminating unsafe patient care. Hospital trusts must now urgently review safeguarding procedures at their inpatient units to identify any action that must be taken immediately to protect patients. The move comes as a separate probe into poor care at privately-run mental health services launches.

The inappropriate use of restraint, segregation and seclusion in mental health settings has long been under scrutiny in England. But in March, the country’s Care Quality Commission found little progress had been made on a series of recommendations it made in 2020 to crack down on the practices. MORE FOR YOU CDC: Salmonella Outbreak Has Left 279 Ill, 26 Hospitalized In 29 States Canadians End Up In ICU After Attending ‘Covid Party’ White House Mandates Pfizer Vaccines for Millions of Citizens .

. . Before the FDA Clinical or Safety Reviews Have Been Made Public The Edenfield documentary comes eleven years after a similar BBC investigation revealed serious abuse at the private Winterbourne Hospital in Bristol.

The facilitywas closed and numerous staff members arrested following the release of undercover footage. Mental health charity Mind says Edenfield and Winterbourne “are not isolated cases” and has called for a full statutory public inquiry into inpatient services across England. Describing the new documentary as “shocking and extremely concerning,” Mind associate director of policy, campaigns and public affairs Vicki Nash said in a statement: “When we are at our most unwell and vulnerable, we need caring and compassionate treatment in a safe and therapeutic environment to recover and we and our loved ones should be able to expect — as a bare minimum — basic humanity and respect.

“The fact that footage obtained as part of this documentary has prompted a criminal police investigation indicates just how short of expectations this mental health service may have fallen. “We are especially concerned about the apparently excessive and punitive use of restraint and seclusion for people with mental health problems and autism. We know these dangerous measures are traumatising, likely to make people’s mental health even worse, and can even be fatal — either directly or indirectly.

” Nash said “a full examination of the systemic failings” of England’s inpatient mental health services must now be taken. The charity has not yet responded to news of the national safety review, which is not a full public inquiry. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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