Wes Streeting praises Independent’s ‘shocking’ exposé that led to closure of children’s hospital

Exclusive: Health secretary said hospital, to shut after this publication exposed allegations of mistreatment, was ‘truly terrifying’ example of what happens when safety is ‘not taken seriously’

Wes Streeting has praised The Independent’s reporting on a children’s hospital where staff allegedly physically abused patients by dragging them by the feet, saying that the exposé was “truly shocking”.

Joyce Parker Hospital, a children’s mental health unit run by Cygnet Health Care in Coventry, will now close following the claims first highlighted by this publication.

Earlier this year The Independent revealed a leaked letter from the Care Quality Commission to the hospital that warned that inspectors had allegedly found CCTV of staff abusing children while restraining them.

Speaking about the case, the health secretary said: “It is truly shocking the way in which children were treated in a place where they were supposed to be safe. I think the closure decision is the right one and we are working to make sure that the appropriate placements are provided for those young people.”

He added: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant. I think it’s a truly terrifying example of what happens when patient safety is not taken seriously. And I don’t want to read about any more of these sorts of cases.

Joyce Parker Hospital, a children’s mental health unit run by Cygnet Health Care in Coventry, is set to close (Sourced/iStock/Getty)

“We’ve got to make sure that in everything we are doing throughout health and care services the safety of the patients, the safety of the care user, is the first consideration.”

Parents of NHS patients in the unit have been told Joyce Parker is to close and will reopen as a hospital for adults just weeks later.

Multiple patients and parents have come forward with allegations of poor care since The Independent’s original report.

“From day one, it’s been really brutal,” said the mother of a teenage girl still in the hospital. “She [daughter] was covered in bruises. She was really distressed. I keep thinking this is my child, who is really unwell, and you trust people will look after her.

“She’s been pushed against walls, had her arms put around the back, she’s been put on the floor. My daughter is so much worse than she was when she got there.”

The children’s hospital previously treated women with mental health conditions but was placed in special measures by the CQC five years ago, after the death of a 25-year-old patient Claire Greaves.

An inquest found that insufficient staffing levels had likely contributed to her death. Cygnet later reopened the hospital as a children’s service.

The NHS pays the company tens of millions of pounds each year.

Despite the imminent closure, Cygnet Healthcare has said it “strongly refutes” the CQC’s claims of abuse.

Streeting said ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’ (PA)

A spokesperson for Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital said: “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to change the services offered at the hospital and to discontinue our child and adolescent mental health provision at the site.

“The hospital remains open as we make these changes and our immediate priority is to continue supporting the young people in our care. We will work with our partners, including commissioners, CQC, service users and their families, to ensure each patient has a smooth transfer to a new setting, best suited to their individual needs.

“We remain committed to providing the highest standards of care at Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital in the future and continue to strongly refute any allegations of abuse that have been made.”