'Sexual safety' review of NHS mental health wards launched

NHS staff flag 900 sexual incidents or risks in three-months, but severity of cases uncertain

Health Correspondent

Thursday 12 April 2018 19:40 BST

Inspectors said that the cases it identified included verbal sexual harassment, or potential risks posed by men or women sharing a ward, as well as more serious cases of assault (PA)

A review of “sexual assault and harassment” on NHS mental health wards has been launched by England’s health and social care watchdog, after a snapshot survey identified 900 incidents or risks reported by staff in a three-month window.

It was triggered after Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors found “sexual incidents” reported by staff at a trust that was already being investigated for housing men and women on the same ward - a clear breach of guidance.

When it broadened its search in the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS), a central database of 60,000 patient safety incident reports, which can include risks that have yet to cause an incident, the CQC found trusts had reported almost 1,000 sexual safety issues.

The CQC said that the cases it identified included verbal sexual harassment, or potential risks posed by men or women sharing a ward, as well as more serious cases of sexual assault.

However there was a lack of standardisation in how these specialist mental health trusts, where patients can reside for weeks or months on end while they are treated, categorised the risks.

In a letter, CQC mental health lead Dr Paul Lelliott said it would interview senior staff about the extent of these issues.

He said ts priority “continues to be to ensure that people using healthcare services are kept safe and that their privacy and dignity are maintained”.

Dr Lelliott added: “We intend to publish a national briefing later in the year, which will outline our detailed findings from this review and make recommendations for the system.

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

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1/6Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

“We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population,” Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Jeremy Hunt has called for a “honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments”, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called “very serious problems at some hospitals” by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunt’s plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Reports that “key members” of Ms May’s team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

In an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been “ducked by government over the years”. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a “humanitarian crisis” and said health funding was at record levels. “We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need,” said the Prime Minister. “They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required… Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.” But doctors accused Ms May of being “in denial” about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise – introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2000 – should only be for “those who actually need it”. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had “less stringent” rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

Mr Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye following news of the Red Cross’s comments and didn’t make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying “the public will want to know, Mr Hunt”. “Sorry Beth, I’ve answered questions about this already,” replied Mr Hunt. “But you didn’t answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didn’t want to water it down. Is that what you’re saying?” said Ms Rigby. “It’s very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then won’t answer the question, Mr Hunt”. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in.

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“While we carry out this important work, we encourage NHS trusts to review their incident reports and to consider what action they may need to take on an individual basis, as well as how they are ensuring the sexual safety of patients on their wards in general.”

The Conservatives pledged to eradicate mixed-sex wards in the health service, though The Independent revealed 10,000 cases last year as bed space was squeezed.

Dr Lelliott said work by trusts should “extend beyond” this, because some of the sexual safety reports came from patients on same-sex wards.

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'Sexual safety' review of NHS mental health wards launched

NHS staff flag 900 sexual incidents or risks in three-months, but severity of cases uncertain

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

Join our commenting forum