Scandal-hit children’s hospital sanctioned by watchdog after ‘systemic abuse’ revealed

A scandal-hit hospital group has been sanctioned by inspectors after The Independent revealed “systemic abuse” at a string of children’s mental health units.

England’s safety watchdog issued an official warning to Ivetsey Bank Hospital in Staffordshire, formerly run by The Huntercombe Group, after an extensive investigation by this newspaper found the private hospital had put the safety of young mental health patients at risk.

The Care Quality Commission also downgraded the hospital’s rating to “inadequate”. If improvements are not made in line with the warning notice, the hospital could be forced to close.

An inspection was carried out two weeks after The Independent revealed widespread allegations of abuse and excessive restraint across The Huntercombe Group’s hospitals.

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The investigation revealed the provider, which also runs Taplow Manor children’s hospital in Maidenhead, was facing allegations from more than 50 former patients as well as claims of poor care from staff whistleblowers and dozens of negligence claims.

It also revealed two police investigations – one into the death of a young girl last year at the Maidenhead site, and a separate investigation into an alleged rape.

The CQC had upgraded the rating for Ivetsey Bank to “requires improvement” in September but it reinspected the site following the first of three joint investigations by The Independent and Sky News.

The health regulator also issued the hospital with an enforcement action notice, telling the provider it must make sure it records injuries to children.

During the latest inspection, an incident was identified in which staff had claimed they had to restrain an aggressive child but CCTV showed the child was not being aggressive and workers were using “disproportionate” force to restrain them.

It added: “Other staff present during this incident had not raised any concerns regarding this incident and although the service carries out random incident checks on CCTV on this occasion they had failed to identify and safeguard this young person from the use of disproportionate force during restraint.”

The regulator said “immediate action” had been taken, including suspending staff pending an investigation, and that restraint was only used as a last resort.

A repeated allegation uncovered during The Independent investigation was the use of restraint across The Huntercombe Group, with reports of young girls being restrained for hours by multiple male nurses. One former staff member described being in “tears” after being forced to use restraint.

The CQC also reviewed “sexual safety” concerns occurring during restraint, raised by patients. The service was found to have received 12 complaints in the last six months which included two issues of a sexual nature. One was a historic complaint about the way the staff spoke to a patient, according to the CQC.

Inspectors also reported that staff at Ivetsey bank treated young people with compassion and kindness and respected their dignity but did not always respect their care choices.

A spokesperson for Active Care Group, which took over running of The Huntercombe Group in 2021, said it was “shocked, disappointed and saddened” at the “inadequate” rating.

“We do not accept that this report is a fair and unbiased assessment of Ivetsey Bank Hospital. We feel this is a knee-jerk reaction to recent media reports citing unsubstantiated allegations.

“We feel that in view of the recent oversight from NHS England, the Provider Collaborative and the CQC, and the completion of the action plan, this rating is disproportionate to the findings and the improvements that have been made, and which were substantiated at the last inspection.”