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Hundreds of mothers diverted while in labour

Nearly 1,000 women were diverted to other NHS trusts or units while in labour within a six-month period this year, HSJ can reveal.

The information was obtained via a Freedom of Information request, but only 68 of approximately 120 trusts with maternity units provided responses – so the true figure is likely to be significantly higher.

In 528 of the 925 incidents recorded between January to June this year, patients were diverted to a different NHS trust from their chosen place of birth to either have their baby or to receive further care while they were in suspected or confirmed labour.

Of those, 402 were due to staffing, capacity issues in neonatal units, and high acuity of illness in women with a lack of diverse skill mix to support them. The remaining diverts were for clinical reasons such as premature labour.

A further 397 incidents involved diversions being made to other hospitals within the same NHS trust, bringing the overall total to 925.

HSJ’s research shines a light on a problem which is widely known but has not been properly quantified for several years.

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Source: HSJ, 17 December 2024

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Hundreds of mentally ill prisoners denied urgent treatment in England

Hundreds of severely mentally ill prisoners in urgent need of hospital treatment are being left in prison cells due to bed shortages in secure NHS psychiatric units, an investigation has discovered.

Freedom of information (FoI) responses from 22 NHS trusts reveal for the first time that just over half of the 5,403 prisoners in England assessed by prison-based psychiatrists to require hospitalisation were not transferred between 2016 and 2021 – an 81% increase on the number of prisoners denied a transfer in the previous five years.

In some areas, the majority of mentally ill prisoners were not admitted, which could be the result of long delays or a trust refusing to take certain patients. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS foundation trust, which was rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission last month, only admitted 16 of 41 prisoners referred in 2021. Essex Partnership University NHS foundation trust only admitted 24 of 57 prisoners referred in 2021. Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS foundation trust only accepted 18 of the 38 prisoners referred in 2021.

Peter Dawson, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the figures unearthed by the investigation suggested hundreds of very ill people were being denied the treatment they needed.

“It is shocking that a growing number of people are not getting the transfer to hospital that clinicians say is essential for their mental health,” he said. “Instead they are languishing in often overcrowded and dilapidated prisons. It is cruel and guarantees people will leave prison in a worse state than when they came in, with every likelihood that the behaviour that originally led to their arrest and conviction will continue.”

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Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2022

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Hundreds of maternity incidents in one year prompt 1,500 safety instructions to hospitals

1,500 safety recommendations have been made to NHS trusts a year after hundreds of babies were left brain damaged and dozens of mothers and infants died.

Safety watchdog Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has outlined key themes from 760 investigations of maternity incidents, taking over investigations for NHS trusts in 2018 after concerns were raised over the poor quality of investigation by trusts and a lack of involvement in families. 

Sandy Lewis, associate director of maternity said: “The publication of the HSIB maternity programme year review provides crucial details of the work that has been undertaken in the last year. We would like to thank all of those who have worked with us in the past year, sharing their experiences, insights and expertise. Many families have not only told us their stories but have also trusted our investigators to reflect their perspectives and share their experience. Trusts have responded promptly to this insight, this has contributed to improving safer care of mothers, babies and families across the country.”

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Source: The Independent, 16 August 2021

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Hundreds of lung cancer patients harmed after long waits

Hundreds of lung cancer patients are coming to harm while waiting longer than the 62-day benchmark for starting treatment, according to unpublished data collated by HSJ which ministers have called “shocking”.

The figures, obtained from Freedom of Information requests, also suggest the true figure could be even higher, because around 30% of the 104 relevant trusts did not provide data. A leading expert also warned the findings were likely “a conservative estimate” of the level of harm.

The figures are understood to represent the first time the number of harm reviews relating to lung cancer patient long waits across all English trusts has been quantified.

The findings come as scrutiny around the NHS’s record on cancer is set to intensify in the coming months, with the government set to publish a new National Cancer Plan.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK, which has some of the worst survival rates in Europe for the condition, with only about 10 per cent of patients living longer than 10 years. There are around 49,300 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the UK each year, accounting for 13 per cent of all new cancers.

The 71 responding trusts contacted by HSJ revealed they had carried out 4,574 harm reviews following lung cancer patients breaching the constitutional 62-day target for starting treatment in the two years between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024.

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Source: HSJ, 4 November 2025

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Hundreds of lives saved through new tech to spot sepsis

In a major nationwide push to tackle sepsis, including a one hour identification and treatment ambition, new ‘alert and action’ technology is being introduced which uses algorithms to read patients’ vital signs and alert medics to worsening conditions that are a warning sign of sepsis.

Three leading hospitals are using alerts to help identify sepsis and tell doctors when patients with the serious condition are getting worse, ahead of the measures being rolled out across England as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. 

In Liverpool, the hospital’s digital system brings together lab results and patient observations into one place to help staff diagnose and treat suspected sepsis, saving up to 200 lives a year. In Cambridge, deaths from sepsis have fallen consistently over the last three years, with at least 64 lives saved in the past year thanks to the innovative alert and action feature. In Berkshire since introducing a digital system, the Trust has increased screening rates by 70% with nine in 10 patients now consistently screened for sepsis during admission as opposed to two in ten beforehand, allowing doctors to spot more cases sooner.

The schemes are part of a national effort to push best practice and new technology across the NHS, to help hospitals learn from the success of others and spread use of the best technology further, faster.

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, CEO of the UK Sepsis Trust, and the hub's topic leader, said: “Any kind of technology which assists clinicians in making prompt decisions when the warning signs of sepsis are detected should be embraced; with every hour that passes before the right antibiotics are administered the risk of death increases".

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Source: NHS England, 18 August 2019

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Hundreds of hospitals across the US threatened by Medicaid cuts, report says

More than 400 hospitals across the United States are facing closure or slashing crucial services due to coming Medicaid cuts, a new analysis from progressive watchdog organization, Public Citizen, has found.

Cuts to the federal and state health insurance program are expected to reduce access to health care for many Americans, raising insurance costs and limiting state funding.

Roughly 8 million people are projected to become uninsured by 2034, the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said.

Losing millions of patients could throttle income for 446 hospitals in 44 states and Washington, D.C., Public Citizen said. The hospitals serve 6.6 million patients and employ 275,458 workers.

“[The cuts] will have knock-on effects on hospitals that disproportionately serve these communities, deepening the financial strain already plaguing rural and safety-net hospitals and compromising their ability to deliver care, potentially leading many to close,” the report warned.

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Source: The Independent, 31 March 2026

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Hundreds of hospital ventilators could stop working, NHS warned

Hospitals have been warned hundreds of ventilators used to keep sedated patients alive are at risk of suddenly shutting down because of a fault, in some cases without warning.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which said there were approximately 303 Philips Respironics V60 ventilators used in the UK, has warned hospitals over a delay in replacement parts arriving in the UK to fix the problem.

It has issued a safety alert to hospitals to make them aware of the increased risk.

The regulator said it had received one report of a ventilator suddenly shutting down but said there was no report of any injury to patients.

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Source: The Independent, 23 September 2020

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Hundreds of hospice beds and staff cut in England amid funding crisis

Hospices in England are cutting hundreds of beds and staff because of a funding crisis, despite a sharp rise in demand for palliative care, a damning report warns.

People needing end of life care faced a postcode lottery because access to services was so patchy, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported.

A lack of government oversight meant ministers were unaware of how reliant they were on independent hospices, its 52-page report found.

The NAO said nearly two-thirds of independent hospices in England reported a deficit in 2023-24. Overall expenditure was £78m more than income generated.

As a result, services have been slashed and hospices forced to cut the number of beds available for dying people and those with life-limiting conditions. At the end of 2024, about 300 inpatient beds were “deregistered or withdrawn from operation”, the report found, though some could have been because of a preference for being cared for at home.

Hospices have been forced to cut back on staff, the NAO added, despite the fact that demand for palliative care was increasing.

The NAO highlighted “variation” in where hospices were situated across England, owing to the “unplanned way” they have developed over the past few decades.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Independent hospices play a key role in providing palliative and end of life care and provide choice for people at the end of their lives.

“With many more people expected to want hospice care in the future, it is crucial that the sector is financially resilient. DHSC and NHSE should assess how they would meet increased demand for palliative and end of life care should services delivered by independent adult hospices be insufficient.”

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Source: The Guardian, 20 October 2025

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Hundreds of GPs a month seek mental health support as COVID-19 pressure bites

More than 200 GPs a month are seeking mental health support as COVID-19 drives up pressure on the NHS - and demand for help is rising fastest among doctors in primary care, figures from a confidential support service suggest.

NHS Practitioner Health medical director and former RCGP chair Professor Dame Clare Gerada warns that the pandemic 'must surely be contributing to the increase in numbers of doctors presenting for help compared to pre-pandemic levels'.

Before the pandemic, around 60 doctors per week were coming forward for support from NHS Practitioner Health, a free, confidential NHS service for doctors and dentists in England with mental illness and addiction problems.

After an initial dip during the first wave of the pandemic, numbers of doctors coming forward each week spiked to 90 per week by June and now 'regularly over 100' per week, Professor Gerada said.

Junior doctors and international medical graduates now make up 25% of referrals to the service, and younger women have been particularly affected.

Data from NHS Practitioner Health show that up to 69% of all referrals to the service are for women, and nearly a third of all referrals it receives are for female doctors aged 30-39 - for issues 'ranging from anxiety, depression, burnout, PTSD and suicidal thoughts'.

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Source: GP Online, 28 October 2020

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Hundreds of federal health workers say RFK Jr has put Americans in danger

More than 750 current and former employees of the US health department have published a letter rebuking Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, saying his "dangerous and deceitful statements" contributed to recent violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters.

Officials say the man who fired hundreds of rounds at the CDC this month, killing a police officer, had expressed distrust in the Covid-19 vaccine.

In their letter, the staff said the attack came as "politicized rhetoric" drives mistrust in institutions.

They also said Kennedy had put Americans' health in danger and hurt the country's ability to respond to public health emergencies.

"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is complicit in dismantling America's public health infrastructure and endangering the nation's health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information," they wrote in a letter addressed to both Congress and Kennedy and published on a site called Save HHS.

The signatories were affiliated with the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and Health and Human Services.

In a statement, a spokesperson for HHS said Kennedy was "standing firmly with CDC employees" to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

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Source: BBC News, 20 August 2025

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Hundreds of families come forward in Shropshire maternity scandal

More than 200 new families have contacted an inquiry into mother and baby deaths at a hospital trust in Shropshire.

Investigators were already looking at more than 600 cases where newborns and mothers died or were left injured while in the care of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. One expert says the scandal, spanning decades, may be the tip of the iceberg.

Dr Bill Kirkup says it suggests failure might be more widespread in the NHS.

The surge in new cases follows the leak of an interim report last week.

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Source: BBC News, 27 November 2019

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Hundreds of dementia care homes found to be substandard in England

Hundreds of care homes in England are providing substandard care to dementia patients, analysis by the Guardian has found.

One in five homes specialising in dementia are rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), inspection reports show. Some pose such a serious risk to people with dementia – including filthy conditions, poor infection control and untrained staff – that inspectors have ordered them to be placed into special measures.

Altogether, 1,636 care homes are failing patients in findings described by charities and campaigners as “appalling”. They said urgent action was needed to tackle the “unacceptable” state of dementia care across the country.

Zoe Campbell, the director of operations at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s appalling to hear that one in five care homes specialising in dementia are delivering substandard care. Every person with dementia deserves to live in a safe, secure place and to be treated with compassion and respect.”

Campbell said the revelations meant staff recruitment and dementia training must be prioritised in the government’s social care proposals.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 January 2022

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Hundreds of children stuck in hospital because of lack of community services

Hundreds of children are in hospital unnecessarily on any given day because they do not have the right support to go home, according to an analysis of NHS England data.

The discharge delays mean patients affected are missing out on childhood activities and youngsters needing hospital care are waiting for beds, the children’s commissioner’s report found.

More than 260,000 young people spent three or more weeks of their childhood in hospital and 1,300 were there for more than a year.

Medical advancements have meant more patients with complex or life-limiting conditions can live longer but community services such as children’s social care, housing, education and home nursing have not kept pace, it said.

Dame Rachel de Souza, children’s commissioner for England, said in a statement: “For all the debate and attention given to hospitals, waiting times and social care, children are rarely mentioned.

“Childhood is a short and precious time – so when a child spends months or even years confined to a hospital ward, not because they are too unwell to leave but because the right community support cannot be found, the system has failed.”

De Souza said this is partly driven by a “lack of good data”.

The NHS does not consistently record how many youngsters are medically fit to leave hospital but are remaining there as a result of factors external to the health service, the report said.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 March 2026

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Hundreds of children in mental health crisis facing ‘unacceptable’ A&E waits every week

Hundreds of children suffering from mental health issues are attending A&E each day, with some waiting up to five days in emergency departments, The Independent can reveal.

Internal NHS data leaked to The Independent, shows the number of young patients waiting more than 12 hours from arrival has also more than doubled in the last year.

A national survey of senior A&E doctors by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) found in some areas children’s mental health services have worsened in the last three years, while the majority of respondents warned there were no children’s crisis services open after 5pm.

One NHS trust chief executive has warned his hospital’s A&Es have seen a “real surge” in both attendances of people with severe mental health issues and a sharp increase in long waits in recent months.

One parent, Lee Pickwell, told The Independent his daughter was admitted to paediatric wards several times and stayed days in an emergency “section 136” unit while she waited more than two months for a mental health bed.

Dr Mark Buchanan, RCEM’s lead for children’s mental health, told The Independent that despite improvements, children’s mental health services still fall short of what is needed.

Dr Buchanan said: “I’ve seen children who have been not seen by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), who been refused the referrals, despite the fact that the mum and dad were taking it in turns to sleep outside their bedroom door because they were scared that they’d run away and do some harm.”

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Source: The Independent, 13 July 2022

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Hundreds of cancer patients hit by NHS cyberattack as thousands of appointments cancelled

Patients with cancer and those needing emergency operations were among those who had their treatment cancelled this week due to a major cyberattack on NHS hospitals in London.

More than 200 emergency and life-saving operations, including those which should be done within 24 hours, had to be cancelled by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust (GSTT) and King’s College University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

It is not yet clear how long the disruption will last, however hospitals are concerned they will struggle if it continues for more than a few days. According to a source, Synnovis carries out tens of thousands of tests a day but is unable to do so as it cannot access systems.

The Independent revealed:

  • More than a third of procedures and operations have been cancelled, which includes over 3,000 non-surgical appointments and hundreds of patients who have been referred for urgent cancer diagnosis.
  • Mothers waiting to have c-sections have also had their procedures cancelled and hospitals are investigating potential harm.
  • Transplant operations have been cancelled and hospitals have had to reduce the number of people they’re able to book in.

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Source: The Independent, 10 June 2024

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Hundreds of British people are needlessly going blind. Why?

The backlog for ophthalmology appointments in England is the second-largest in the NHS, with UK eye doctors concerned about the number of patients losing sight unnecessarily. Their shock is palpable.

How this could be happening in a rich country such as Britain? There are treatments for common blindness-causing conditions such as macular degeneration, but to get them patients must be able to access the service. And right now the NHS doesn’t have the capacity to deliver them in a timely way.

As junior doctors’ unions – and possibly those of consultants and nurses – proceed with strike action, it’s easy to attack medical professionals with the question: “How many people are dying because of your actions?” The truth is that the entire system has been struggling, and people have been dying anyway because of system failures. Now add to this people living with disabilities that were preventable, such as going blind.

When Labour was in power, it made a real effort, including with financial allocation, to reduce waiting-list times for non-emergency care. But since the Tories were elected in 2010, years of austerity and public-sector neglect – and the shifting of resources and wealthy patients into a lucrative and growing private sector – has meant that the NHS has been transformed from a robust, preventive healthcare service into an acute one. Its basic offering is now: “If you’re dying, we will save you.”

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Source: The Guardian, 19 April 2023

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Hundreds of babies born addicted to drugs and alcohol

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is calling for more cash to be invested in drug and alcohol services after “utterly heart-breaking” figures showed at least 852 babies have been born addicted since April 2017.

A total of 173 such births were recorded in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, down from 205 in 2018-19 and 249 in 2017-18.

In addition to this, a further 52 babies were born addicted in the first part of 2021-22, according to the figures, which were compiled by the Scottish Lib Dems using data obtained under Freedom of Information.

Mr Cole-Hamilton described the figures as being “utterly heart-breaking”, adding: “It is hard to think of a worse possible start in life for a newborn baby to have to endure.”

He criticised SNP ministers, saying: “In 2016, the Scottish Government slashed funding to drug and alcohol partnerships by more than 20 per cent. Valuable local facilities shut their doors and expertise was lost which has proved hard to replace."

“Scotland now has its highest-ever number of drug-related deaths. The Scottish Government has belatedly begun to repair that damage but there is so much more to do."

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Source: The Independent, 6 January 2022

 

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Hundreds more potentially avoidable baby deaths found at Shropshire NHS trust

Hundreds more cases of potentially avoidable baby deaths, stillbirths and brain damage have emerged at an NHS trust, raising concerns about a possible cover-up of the true extent of one the biggest scandals in the health service’s history.

The additional 496 cases raise further serious concerns about maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital NHS trust since 2000.

The cases involving stillbirths, neonatal deaths or baby brain damage, as well as a small number of maternal deaths, have been passed to an independent maternity review, led by the midwifery expert Donna Ockenden. They bring the total number of cases being examined to 1,862.

They will also be passed to West Mercia police, which last month launched a criminal investigation into the trust’s maternity services. Detectives are trying to establish whether there is enough evidence to bring charges of corporate manslaughter against the trust or individual manslaughter charges against staff involved.

The extra 496 cases had not emerged until now because an “open book” initiative led by the NHS in 2018 asked only for digital records of cases identified as a cause for serious concerns. The vast majority of the 496 further cases were recorded only in paper documents.

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Source: The Guardian, 21 July 2020

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Hundreds more middle-aged adults dying a month since Covid pandemic

Hundreds more middle-aged adults have been dying each month since the end of the pandemic, as obesity and NHS backlogs drive a surge in excess deaths.

New analysis of official statistics has revealed that there were an extra 28,000 deaths in the UK during the first six months of 2023, compared with levels in the previous five years.

The biggest rise in unexpected deaths has been among adults aged 50 to 64, who are increasingly dying prematurely from preventable conditions including heart disease and diabetes.

The Covid inquiry is now being urged to shift its focus from “tactical decisions made by politicians” and to examine the lasting disruption that has kept deaths persistently high since the virus peaked.

Experts believe that difficulties in accessing GPs since lockdown and record NHS waiting lists mean that middle-aged patients are missing out on life-saving preventative treatment such as blood pressure medication. Unhealthy lifestyles, obesity and widening health inequalities are also contributing to a rise in avoidable deaths.

Professor Yvonne Doyle, who led Public Health England during the pandemic, warned that the official Covid inquiry risks “missing the point” by focusing on the drama and WhatsApps of Westminster politicians. In an article for The Times, Doyle, who gave evidence to the inquiry six weeks ago, says that the tens of thousands of excess deaths since Covid “represent an underlying pandemic of ill health” that should be addressed.

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Source: The Times, 13 December 2023

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Hundreds more babies in US died than expected in months after Roe was overturned

In the 18 months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, leading more than a dozen states to implement near-total abortion bans, hundreds more babies died than expected, new research has found.

The study, which was conducted by researchers from the Ohio State University and published on Monday in Jama Pediatrics, compared data on infant mortality from the months before Roe’s downfall with data from afterward. Overall infant mortality, they found, rose by 7% in October 2022, March 2023 and April 2023.

On average, in those months, researchers found that there were roughly 247 more infant deaths a month than expected. In six out of those 18 months, mortality among infants with congenital anomalies rose by 10%. In those months, there were about 210 more deaths a month than expected.

Infant mortality rates never dropped lower than expected.

This study is the latest to examine how Roe’s demise has affected babies’ health. In June, another study estimated that, after Texas outlawed abortions past roughly six weeks of pregnancy, the number of infants who died in their first year of life rose by 13%.

The researchers behind that study also found that deaths among infants with congenital anomalies spiked.

These conditions can frequently be detected in utero and, in states where abortion is still legal, lead people to terminate their pregnancies, especially since they may be incompatible with life. However, that may no longer be an option for people living under abortion bans.

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Source: The Guardian, 22 October 2024

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Hundreds left with lost or damaged eyesight after NHS delays

Hundreds of patients have lost their eyesight or had it irreparably damaged because of NHS backlogs, new research suggests.

NHS England clinicians have filed 551 reports of patients who lost their sight as a result of delayed appointments since 2019, with 219 resulting in “moderate or severe harm”, according to an FoI request by the Association of Optometrists, which believes that hundreds more cases are unreported.

Its chief executive, Adam Sampson, said sight loss was a “health emergency”, and urged ministers to introduce a national eye health strategy to enable high street and community optometrists to ease some of the burden on hospitals.

He said: “There are good treatments available for common age-related eye conditions like macular degeneration but many hospital trusts simply do not have the capacity to deliver services.

“Optometry is ideally placed to take away some of that burden – optometrists are already qualified to provide many of the extended services needed and are available on every high street, so patients can be treated closer to home. It’s incomprehensible and absolutely tragic that patients are waiting, losing their vision, in many parts of the country because of the way eye healthcare is commissioned.”

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Source: The Guardian, 21 March 2023

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Hundreds face six-hour booster jab queue as rollout to all adults begins

Hundreds of Britons faced many hours-long queues to receive their coronavirus booster jab in a day of chaos that saw lateral flow tests run out on the government website and the NHS site struggle with the surge in booster bookings.

It comes as Boris Johnson opened the booster jab programme to all adults in a bid to offer the third dose to all over-18s by the end of December, bringing his original target forward by one month.

St Thomas’ Vaccination Centre in Westminister confirmed a wait time of six hours for a booster jab, The Independent was told, with queues snaking around the building.

The hospital trust warned the public of a “high demand” for walk-in appointments causing extended waiting times.

Operations manager Ria Burke, 25, who had been waiting in the queue for 20 minutes, said: “It’s the first day my age group is allowed to get jabbed and I live locally.

“I’d like to not endanger my family at Christmas. This is my third jab. I watched the prime minister’s announcement last night and it was a good sign post but I think like a lot of other people I was just waiting for the portal to open.”

At Essentials Pharmacy in Covent Garden, Grace Whiley, 26, had been waiting in the queue for an hour and a half. She said: “It was a last-minute decision, I work round the corner and my age group can’t book til Wednesday. I just want to get it done. I’m pregnant so I want to be as protected as possible.”

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Source: The Independent, 13 December 2021

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Hundreds died on same day as being discharged, trust review finds

An independent review has raised concerns about a mental health trust’s reporting systems and has highlighted a significant number of patient deaths shortly after leaving the trust’s care, including almost 300 who died on the same day they were discharged. 

However, the review into how Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust collects, processes and reports mortality data made no conclusions on the number of avoidable deaths – the issue which had originally prompted the probe. 

Local NHS leaders argued the review’s purpose was focused on auditing the trust’s processes, and this had been delivered. But a local MP, Clive Lewis, accused it of “explicitly dodg[ing] the big questions”. 

The report, which looked at data from between April 2019 and October 2022, has however raised concerns about the number of patients dying soon after being discharged.

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Source: HSJ, 28 June 2023

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Humiliated Covid whistleblower says boss tried to 'break' her

A senior doctor who won a record £3.2m payout says her boss tried to "break" her after she raised concerns about how Covid was being handled.

Rosalind Ranson, medical director on the Isle of Man during the pandemic, experienced months of humiliation, an employment tribunal found.

Dr Ranson has given BBC News her first interview since the hearing.

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Source: BBC News, 5 December 2023

 

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Human rights of mental health patients violated amid crisis in care, regulator warns

The human rights of vulnerable mental health patients are being violated because of the crisis in care, a regulator has warned.

Rob Behrens, the health service ombudsman for England, said urgent action was needed over repeated “tragedies” in NHS mental health services.

His warning comes as the latest NHS figures show there were 9,839 incidents of abuse against mental health patients from April 2021 to March this year – a higher figure than in any other sector.

It follows an investigation by The Independent last month that revealed allegations of systemic abuse of children within a group of private mental health hospitals run by a provider called The Huntercombe Group.

Mr Behrens said research carried out by his office showed that vulnerable people being detained in hospitals are “losing their human rights when they were put in difficult situations where they had no control”.

Mr Behrens told The Independent: “We can’t go on with leaders in the NHS and politicians saying ‘This cannot go on’, because it happens time and time again. It’s the amount of resource and commitment that is put into dealing with issues, which ultimately is going to turn this around".

When asked if mental health is a particular area of concern, Mr Behrens said: “Yes. It’s about human rights. It’s about vulnerable people exposing themselves to the arm of the state in a way where they have very little control, and where there needs to be accountability and scrutiny. That’s exactly where an ombudsman should be looking, to make sure that people without power are not being traduced by the system.”

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Source: The Independent, 28 November 2022

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