Staff suspended after ‘sleeping in patient’s bed’

Staff were suspended by their trust after they were found to have been sleeping in a patient’s bed, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report has revealed.

The regulator inspected acute wards for adults and psychiatric intensive care units at Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust in February, after safeguarding concerns were raised.

As HSJ revealed earlier this year, inspectors investigated a series of incidents, while a referral was also made to the police. As well as reports of staff using a mental health inpatient’s bed, there were complaints involving alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour and a governance breach. The concerns were said to relate to Hallam Street hospital in West Bromwich and Penn Hospital in Wolverhampton. 

The CQC inspection report said it inspected the service following allegations that “abuse had occurred” and a “multi-agency safeguarding meeting was convened to discuss the investigations of these”.

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Source: HSJ, 18 May 2023