Abuse of our mental health patients a stain on NHS

Editorial: The Independent exposed grievous conditions in the Taplow Manor facility – we welcome its closure, but there is still much to be done to tackle the systematic mistreatment of mental health patients

Mental health care remains something that is still regarded as far too distinct from physical illness (Shutterstock)

Normally, the closure of a mental health facility wouldn’t be something to be greeted with relief, let alone celebrated. The pressures on the long-neglected NHS mental health service are well known and, post-pandemic, the demand for treatment and residential care remains as high as ever.

However, the news that the end has finally arrived for the Active Care Group’s Taplow Manor facility in Berkshire is certainly something to be welcomed, if not celebrated. It follows a long investigative campaign by The Independent which exposed multiple shocking failures at the institution, marking it out as particularly inadequate in a sector traditionally poor at looking after its patients’ needs.

A private sector institution but linked to the NHS, Taplow Manor was the subject of “systemic abuse” allegations, uncovered by The Independent. The scandal wasn’t so much that the abuses took place, grievous though they were, but that it took the authorities so long to rouse themselves to action.