A high-security hospital is so under-staffed that patients are not safe, watchdog warns

One of Britain’s three high-security hospitals – where notorious people including Ian Huntley and Charles Bronson have been detained – is so understaffed that neither workers nor patients are safe, a damning new report has found.

Rampton Hospital in Nottingham faces severe staff shortages, leading workers to restrain patients and lock them away in their rooms and putting patients at risk of self harm, according to the Care Quality Commission.

In a report looking into the hospital, inspectors – who rated the hospital as inadequate – said there were around half the staff needed on one ward.

In one example of those at the hospital being at risk, a patient self-harmed with glass from their watch, while another was able to harm themselves with a CD while they were confined to their room.

One deaf patient was secluded several times on another ward for “being loud”, according to the CQC.

“We spoke with people in the learning disabilities services who told us they sometimes get locked in their room from dinner time until the next morning,” the report said. “They told us that they don’t like being locked in their rooms.”

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Source: The Independent, 17 January 2024