West Lane Hospital: Staff concerns 'ignored' at Middlesbrough site

A whistleblower at a mental health trust criticised over the deaths of three teenagers has said bosses ignored workers when they raised concerns.

Christie Harnett and Nadia Sharif, both 17, and Emily Moore, 18, who were friends, all took their own lives within eight months of each other.

The whistleblower said agency workers fell asleep on duty at Middlesbrough's West Lane Hospital and staff struggled "to keep children alive".

The trust has apologised for failings.

Reports into the women's care found 120 failings at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), which ran the hospital, and other agencies.

Speaking after the reports were published, the health trust worker, who did not wish to be identified, told the BBC staff were "ignored" when they tried to warn bosses about conditions in the hospital.

"Staff repeatedly raised concerns with managers, some of the time we just didn't have enough staff to keep the children safe," the worker said.

"We warned them something serious was going to happen, but they just ignored us.

"Senior managers looked at numbers, rather than the skillset that staff actually had.

"The agency staff would sometimes fall asleep on duty or watch the telly rather than engage with patients."

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Source: BBC News, 4 November 2022