Coventry workers seen dragging sufferers in youngsters’s hospital

Workers in a youngsters’s hospital have been caught on CCTV footage abusing sufferers by dragging them, in keeping with a well being watchdog’s report.

Care High quality Fee (CQC) inspectors discovered three circumstances the place youngsters have been bodily abused by workers at Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital in Coventry.

The report stated youngsters instructed inspectors workers “typically bent their wrist” or harm them by “twisting their knee”.

The hospital stated it continued to “strongly refute” any allegations of abuse and police had ended an investigation into safeguarding circumstances. The BBC has contacted West Midlands Police for remark.

The hospital, run by Cygnet Well being Care Restricted, has modified its use because the inspection and now solely offers companies to grownup male sufferers.

The report, after a CQC go to to the 43-bed psychological well being unit in July, stated inspectors reviewed CCTV footage for 3 circumstances of restraint the place youngsters have been bodily abused by workers.

“Workers have been noticed dragging youngsters and younger individuals throughout these incidents,” they stated.

“For all three incidents reviewed, there was no obvious threat requiring restraint offered by the younger individual.”

They added there was no proof of workers making an attempt to de-escalate the state of affairs earlier than restraining the youngsters.

The report stated footage recognized 12 members of workers as “passive bystanders” who didn’t increase considerations.

4 out of seven youngsters they spoke to stated they “didn’t really feel secure on the service”.

In September, Well being Secretary Wes Streeting stated the choice to shut the youngsters’s service was the “proper one” and referred to as abuse allegations on the unit “really stunning”.

On the time, the hospital acknowledged “inappropriate use of restraint throughout very troublesome circumstances”.

The CQC stated three warning notices have been despatched to the hospital for failing to satisfy rules regarding abuse throughout circumstances of restraint.

Regardless of its change of use, the CQC stated the hospital was nonetheless registered as capable of present psychological well being companies to youngsters and adolescents.

The hospital stays rated as “requires enchancment”.

A press release from the hospital stated it continued to “strongly refute any allegations of abuse”.

“We’ll proceed to work transparently to exhibit our dedication to sustaining excessive requirements of care and look ahead to the publication of the latest CQC inspection, which befell in October 2024,” a spokesperson stated.

The hospital stated police and native safeguarding authorities closed their investigations into plenty of safeguarding incidents and that no additional motion could be taken by the organisations.