‘They did nothing’: Dozens of NHS mental health inpatients make fresh rape and sexual assault allegations
Dozens of new allegations of abuse – including claims of multiple rapes of one patient and another with a mental disorder who fell pregnant after sex with a staff member – have emerged against NHS trusts following an investigation by Sky News and The Independent.
The fresh cases came to light as NHS England says it doesn’t enforce “vital” government-backed guidelines around sexual safety on mental health inpatient wards.
As part of a joint Patient 11 podcast investigation, Sky News and The Independent, last week revealed 20,000 new complaints of sexual abuse, harassment and rape, involving patients and staff, across more than 30 NHS England mental health trusts since 2019.
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Significantly, the investigation also revealed that out of more than 50 contacted, only six trusts demonstrated that they’re applying 2020 government-backed protections – The Sexual Safety Collaborative – developed with and described as “vital” by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
But this week – after more than 40 former patients, their families, and current patients contacted Sky News and The Independent with yet more claims of sexual assault and rape in psychiatric care facilities – NHS England said these protection guidelines, which it cites as key in terms of patient safety, are not mandated or enforced.
The admission comes during a week-long national awareness campaign around sexual abuse and sexual violence.
Among the 40-plus cases brought to the attention of Sky News is a former taxi driver who alleges that she was raped by two staff members at the same time while she was a psychiatric patient in Doncaster in 2017.
Another is the mother of a current mental health inpatient who fell pregnant as a result of sexual intercourse with a staff member when an inpatient at the Priory Hospital in Surrey.
And a teaching student alleges that after complaining to staff that she’d been sexually assaulted in a mixed-care setting, she found herself returned to the same mixed environment as the male patient she’d complained against.
Following the findings of the Patient 11 podcast investigation – sparked by the witness testimony and escape from psychiatric care of Alexis Quinn after two complaints of sexual assault – the health secretary said claims of sexual assault and rape would be part of a national review of care on mental health wards.
The government move was immediately branded as “insufficient” by Ms Quinn.
Now former patients have come forward with fresh claims and calls for a national inquiry.
Read more:
Claims to be reviewed after Sky News investigation
‘There needs to be an inquiry’
Jacqueline Dean, a mother and former taxi driver, alleges that she was drugged and raped by two male staff members at the same time when she was a sectioned mental health inpatient at Tickhill Road Hospital in Doncaster in 2017.
“I wasn’t even able to move, I was paralysed,” she claims. “I could see everything. I could feel everything, [but] I couldn’t do anything. Not anything at all.”
“There needs to be an inquiry,” she added. “People need to know what’s gone on.”
Responding to her allegations, Rotherham, Humber and Doncaster NHS Foundation Trust – which previously failed to reply to a Sky News freedom of information request asking for data on sexual abuse complaints – said: “We can confirm that six years ago, the organisation received a complaint, which was investigated at the time.
“Ourselves and the police concluded that we should not proceed further, as they did not believe that a crime had been committed.
“If new information is now available, we would welcome contact from the complainant which we will consider.”
Patient fell pregnant after ‘sex with staff member’
Ms Dean has now called for an inquiry, a sentiment echoed by one mother from the New Forest, whose mentally ill daughter fell pregnant after having sex with a staff member while an inpatient at the Priory in Surrey in 2019.
Subsequently, the male staff member at the centre of the incident was charged by police.
A spokesperson for the Priory in Surrey said: “As soon as we became aware of this incident in 2019, we made the necessary safeguarding referrals, and informed the police and the employment agency concerned.
“The agency staff member was immediately excluded from working within our services and subsequently convicted.”
The Priory said it has since enhanced its reporting processes and training.
As part of the Sky News/The Independent Patient 11 investigation, 500 allegations of rape or sexual assault in mixed wards or care spaces were identified across more than 20 trusts.
‘They did nothing’
In 2022, Serena – not her real name – was being treated as a mental health inpatient in Langley Green Hospital under the care of Sussex Partnership NHS Trust.
Serena entered care with complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of abuse suffered as a child.
While there, the now university student claims she was sexually assaulted in a shared male and female common area.
“I was assaulted by another patient,” she explained. “It was touching the leg going up to, you know, where you don’t ever need to go.
“Because of my history, I went to the nurses’ station to tell them what happened, that I was upset and didn’t feel comfortable [but] they did nothing apart from to tell him [the male patient] not to talk to me.”
Serena claims that despite her complaint, she was left exposed to the male patient she’d complained about after being returned to a mixed-gender care environment.
“It was [like] just another day at the office,” she said.
A spokesperson for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “With this alleged incident, we urge the person affected to get in touch with us or report it to the police.
“In circumstances where there are allegations of this nature, our priority is to ensure the safety of the patient – offering support and putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place.
“We are committed to learning from any incidents, especially if someone feels they have not received the appropriate support.”
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‘I’m just being traumatised’
‘Sexual violence is unacceptable’
In response to our latest findings, NHS England said it has asked trusts to appoint domestic abuse and sexual violence leads as part of a zero-tolerance approach to keep patients and staff safe from sexual misconduct and violence.
NHS England also said that it is a mandatory requirement for trusts to share all the information they receive with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on a weekly basis.
Last week, when Sky News first revealed the findings of its investigation, NHS England said: “We are taking action to ensure the safety of patients and staff, including rolling out better reporting mechanisms, training and support as part of the NHS’s new Sexual Safety Charter.
“NHS England has advised all trusts and local health systems to appoint a domestic abuse and sexual violence lead to support patients and staff to report incidents and access support, with more than 300 now in place.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Sexual violence or misconduct of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS, and NHS organisations have a responsibility to protect both staff and patients.
“We are working closely with the NHS to ensure anyone receiving treatment in a mental health facility receives safe, high-quality care, and is looked after with dignity and respect.”
If you have a story about a similar experience in NHS psychiatric care contact StoryCast@sky.uk
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters in Canada: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, describing it as a “really important agreement”.
“So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength,” the prime minister added.
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
As the pair exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, Mr Trump held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Sir Keir quickly stooped to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
The US president also appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.
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In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
Whitehall officials tried to convince Michael Gove to go to court to cover up the grooming scandal in 2011, Sky News can reveal.
Dominic Cummings, who was working for Lord Gove at the time, has told Sky News that officials in the Department for Education (DfE) wanted to help efforts by Rotherham Council to stop a national newspaper from exposing the scandal.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Cummings said that officials wanted a “total cover-up”.
Politics latest: Grooming gangs findings unveiled
The revelation shines a light on the institutional reluctance of some key officials in central government to publicly highlight the grooming gang scandal.
In 2011, Rotherham Council approached the Department for Education asking for help following inquiries by The Times. The paper’s then chief reporter, the late Andrew Norfolk, was asking about sexual abuse and trafficking of children in Rotherham.
The council went to Lord Gove’s Department for Education for help. Officials considered the request and then recommended to Lord Gove’s office that the minister back a judicial review which might, if successful, stop The Times publishing the story.
Lord Gove rejected the request on the advice of Mr Cummings. Sources have independently confirmed Mr Cummings’ account.
Education Secretary Michael Gove in 2011. Pic: PA
Mr Cummings told Sky News: “Officials came to me in the Department of Education and said: ‘There’s this Times journalist who wants to write the story about these gangs. The local authority wants to judicially review it and stop The Times publishing the story’.
“So I went to Michael Gove and said: ‘This council is trying to actually stop this and they’re going to use judicial review. You should tell the council that far from siding with the council to stop The Times you will write to the judge and hand over a whole bunch of documents and actually blow up the council’s JR (judicial review).’
“Some officials wanted a total cover-up and were on the side of the council…
“They wanted to help the local council do the cover-up and stop The Times’ reporting, but other officials, including in the DfE private office, said this is completely outrageous and we should blow it up. Gove did, the judicial review got blown up, Norfolk stories ran.”
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Grooming gangs victim speaks out
The judicial review wanted by officials would have asked a judge to decide about the lawfulness of The Times’ publication plans and the consequences that would flow from this information entering the public domain.
A second source told Sky News that the advice from officials was to side with Rotherham Council and its attempts to stop publication of details it did not want in the public domain.
One of the motivations cited for stopping publication would be to prevent the identities of abused children entering the public domain.
There was also a fear that publication could set back the existing attempts to halt the scandal, although incidents of abuse continued for many years after these cases.
Sources suggested that there is also a natural risk aversion amongst officials to publicity of this sort.
Read more on grooming gangs:
What we do and don’t know from the data
A timeline of the scandal
Mr Cummings, who ran the Vote Leave Brexit campaign and was Boris Johnson’s right-hand man in Downing Street, has long pushed for a national inquiry into grooming gangs to expose failures at the heart of government.
He said the inquiry, announced today, “will be a total s**tshow for Whitehall because it will reveal how much Whitehall worked to try and cover up the whole thing.”
He also described Mr Johnson, with whom he has a long-standing animus, as a “moron’ for saying that money spent on inquiries into historic child sexual abuse had been “spaffed up the wall”.
Asked by Sky News political correspondent Liz Bates why he had not pushed for a public inquiry himself when he worked in Number 10 in 2019-20, Mr Cummings said Brexit and then COVID had taken precedence.
“There are a million things that I wanted to do but in 2019 we were dealing with the constitutional crisis,” he said.
The Department for Education and Rotherham Council have been approached for comment.
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