Here’s a list of NHS trusts which have put up hospital parking charges in past two years
A total of 37 NHS trusts increased car parking charges at some point in the two years to March 2024.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “NHS trusts – most of whom are under huge financial pressure – just couldn’t afford to maintain car parks without charging people to use them.
“The last thing trusts want to do is have to divert money away from patient services.
“City centre and urban hospital car parks where spaces are in great demand are a particular challenge.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said in a statement to PA: “Hospital car park charges are the responsibility of individual NHS trusts, however any charges must be reasonable and in line with the local area.
“Free parking is available for all NHS staff who work overnight.”
Here’s a list of the NHS trusts where the charges have increased, based on figures obtained by the Press Association following a Freedom of Information request. Not all trusts reported the figures in the same way.
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Charges were increased from 1 February 2023. Up to 20 minutes remained free, while stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours all increased by 50p to £4.50, £5.50, £6.50 and £7.50 respectively.
Stays of five to six hours and the weekly rate remained the same.
Charges for stays of more than six hours increased by £1 to £10.
File pic: PA
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Charges were increased from 1 February 2023. Up to 20 minutes remained free, with charges for up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours increasing by 50p to £4.50, £5.50, £6.50 and £7.50 respectively.
The day rate of more than six hours increased by £1 to £10. Tariffs for five to six hours remained the same (£8), as did the weekly rate (£25).
Barts Health NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased for patients and visitors during the period at Newham Hospital only.
Up to one hour was a new charge at £2.
Up to three hours increased by 70p to £3.70, while up to six hours increased by £1 to £7.
Charges for an eight-hour stay and up to 24 hours remained the same at £8 and £16.50 respectively.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased prices on 1 July 2023. Stays of two hours, two to three hours and three to six hours all increased by 20p to £2.70, £3.20 and £4.20 respectively. Six to 24 hours increased by 30p to £6.30.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased primary care tariffs and charges at Ipswich Hospital in August 2022, followed by Colchester Hospital in January 2023.
Up to 30 minutes at both hospitals remained free, although charges for one, two and four hours increased by 20p, 30p and 50p respectively to £2.20, £3.30 and £4.50.
There was a £5.50 charge introduced for five hours and a £10 charge for 24 hours. The price of an eight-hour stay increased to £6.50 from £5.
However, a five-day pass was cheaper at £12, down from £15, while a seven-day pass was £4 cheaper at £14.
In primary care, one hour was free, with two hours costing 30p more at £3.30.
A stay of four hours increased by 50p to £4.50, eight hours was £1.50 more at £6.50 and 24 hours was £2 more at £12.
A five-day pass was £1 dearer at £16, although the price of a seven-day pass remained the same at £18.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased from January 2024:
Up to one hour – Up by 20p to £2
One to two hours – Up by 20p to £3.60
Two to three hours – Up by 25p to £5.20
Three to four hours – Up by 35p to £7
Four to five hours – Up by 40p to £8.50
Five to six hours – Up by £1 to £10.2
Six to 12 hours – Up by £1.10 to £11.80
Twelve to 24 hours – Up by 85p to £18.30
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Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
In 2022/23, the trust increased charges for up to two hours from £3.30 to £3.50.
In 2023/24, the tariff for up to two hours increased to £3.80, while three to four hours went up from £5.50 to £6 and a four to five-hour stay increased from £6.50 to £7.
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Up to 20 minutes remained free, with the charge for up to one hour increased from £1.10 to £1.50 in 2023/24. Elsewhere:
One to two hours – up by 80p to £3
Two to three hours – up by £1.20 to £4.50
Three to four hours – up by £1.60 to £6
Four to five hours – up £2 to £7.50
Five to six hours – up £2.20 to £10
After 6pm, charges for up to two hours increased by 40p to £1.50, while more than two hours is £1 dearer at £3.
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
There was a change in durations and charges from 1 December 2022.
Up to 30 minutes remained free, while tariffs for up to one hour increased by 20p to £2.
The trust stopped charging on the half hour, instead charging on the hour. For example, there was no longer a £2.80 charge for one hour 30 minutes.
The tariff changed to one to two hours at a cost of £3. Elsewhere, the £10 eight-to-24-hour stay changed to 12 to 24 hours at a cost of £16.
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Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased its prices for visitors by 3.9%, which it said was in line with inflation.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
The trust increased the price of staff permits as well as tariffs for visitors.
The price of a standard £30 staff permit, for example, went up by 2.3% to £32.24.
Hourly charges were also increased across its sites, including Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Hourly tariffs were increased by a total of 2.6%, while concessions, including weekly passes, went up by 1.0%. There was no increase to charges for patients having chemotherapy.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Prices were increased from 2023. Up to 30 minutes remained free, with a charge of £2.50 introduced for 30 minutes to one hour.
Elsewhere, stays of two to four hours, four to six hours and six to eight hours previously cost £4, £6 and £8 respectively, but charges for stays of two to three hours (£4), three to four hours (£5), four to five hours (£6), five to six hours (£7) and six to seven hours (£8) were introduced.
The trust previously charged £10 for stays of eight to 10 hours. Now, a stay of seven to 10 hours costs £10, while 10 to 16 hours is £12 and 16 to 24 hours is £15.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
The trust said it aligned its car parking tariffs for patients and visitors across all its hospital sites following the reinstatement of parking charges.
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased charges for stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours by 20p, 30p, 40p and 50p respectively to £2.20, £3.30, £4.40 and £5.50.
Stays of between five and 24 hours remained the same at £10.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Charges did not increase for patients during the period.
However, the trust did change its staff charging structure, meaning some worker tariffs increased and others were reduced. Band seven staff and above were charged more for permits.
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
According to its disclosure log, the trust increased tariffs.
The charge for 15 minutes to one hour went up by 10p to £2.80, a three-hour stay increased by 20p to £3.70, up to six hours went up by 20p to £5, up to eight hours increased by 20p to £5.50, while up to 24 hours increased by 40p to £11.
A weekly ticket is now £21, up from £20, and a lost ticket costs £11, up from £10.60.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased the tariff at its long-stay car park at the University Hospital of North Tees from 1 December 2023. The rate had previously been £2 per 14 hours and was increased to £2.50 per 14 hours.
All other parking rates remained unchanged from 2022/23 to 2023/24.
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North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Tariffs increased by 20p per hourly session at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Peterborough City Hospital, but charges were not increased at Stamford and Rutland Hospital.
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased tariffs for staff and patients during the period.
For the public, up to one hour went from £2.40 to £2.70, one to two hours increased from £3.90 to £4.40, two to four hours went up from £4.40 to £5 and more than four hours increased from £4.90 to £5.50.
Off-site barrier charges for staff increased from £8.50 to £9.60, while off-site non-barrier charges increased from £9.45 to £10.60. The charge for on-site barrier car parks went up from £25.50 to £28.40.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased tariffs for patients and visitors at John Radcliffe Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Churchill Hospital on 1 August 2023.
Up to 30 minutes remained free, although 30 minutes to one hour increased from £1.40 to £2.20.
A one to two-hour stay was 10p cheaper at £2.70, as well as a two to three-hour stay which went from £4.20 to £3.70.
Three to four hours increased from £5.60 to £6.20 and the cost for more than four hours went up by £1 to £8. Stays between 8pm and 8am were previously free but now cost £2.
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
According to the trust, staff are charged 1.25% when they park on site. It added that a 10% increase in 2023 “was based on the fact that the patient tariff had not been increased for four years” and therefore “10% was a fair increase based on inflation”.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased the costs of its staff permits and parking charges for visitors.
A multi-site pass and a pass for the Royal Free Hospital increased from £94.28 to £99.84 per month for full-time staff from 1 April 2023. Part-time staff are charged £49.82, up from £47.14.
Tariffs for off-peak and weekend parking also increased slightly.
The staff permit tariff at Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals is charged based on a percentage of salary.
These percentages increased from 0.84% to 0.89% for full-time staff and 0.42% to 0.45% for part-time staff at both sites.
For patients, hourly charges were increased across all three hospitals from 1 December 2023.
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
One hour £3.70 increased to £3.90
Two hours £4.70 increased to £4.90
Three hours £5.30 increased to £5.60
Four hours £5.80 increased to £6.10
Six hours £6.80 increased to £7.10
Twenty-four hours £9.80 increased to £10.30
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Charges were increased by 4%.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Tariffs for patients and visitors increased on 15 January 2024.
Stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to six hours and six to 10 hours all increased by 50p each to £5, £6, £7, and £8 respectively.
Stays of between 10 and 24 hours increased from £6 to £13.
For staff, charges were reintroduced on 1 June 2023 and are banded by annual salary.
Those earning £23,000 or below pay 50p a day, while those on between £23,500 and £47,600 pay £1.25 a day. Workers on the highest salaries of £48,000 or above pay £1.80 a day.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Tariffs were increased in October 2022. Up to 30 minutes is free, up from 15 minutes, although charges for up to one hour increased from £1.20 to £2.
One to two hours increased from £2.40 to £4, two to three hours increased from £3.60 to £6 and three to four hours increased from £4.80 to £8.
A standard tariff for four to five hours is £12, up from £6, but will cost patients £8. A standard charge is £18 for five to 24 hours, but is £8 for patients. Previously, the standard charge for five to six hours and six to 24 hours was £7.20.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Stays of less than 15 minutes remained free but there was a 20p increase for stays of up to one hour, one to two hours, two to three hours and four to five hours.
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
The trust changed its prices for patients and visitors from November 2023.
Up to 30 minutes – previously 20 minutes – was now free, with up to one hour costing £1.50. The price for two hours increased from £2.50 to £2.70, three hours was now £3.90, up from £3.50, and four hours cost £4.80, up from £4.50.
The price for stays of five hours and six hours remained the same. The charge for between seven and 24 hours was £15, with the £10.50 tariff for eight hours no longer available.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust
The trust upped charges for its short and long-stay car parks from September 2023.
At the short stay, up to one hour increased by 20p, stays of up to two and three hours increased by 40p to £4.90 and £5.90 respectively, while up to four hours increased by 50p to £7.
Stays of up to five hours increased from £7.50 to £8.10, and six hours went from £8.50 to £9.20.
Stays of between six and 12 hours increased by £1 to £14 and between 12 and 24 hours is now £17.30, up from £16.
At the long-stay sites, there was no change to the charge for seven days. Stays of 14 days increased from £38.50 to £41.60 and 30 days was now £59.40, up from £55.
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Up to 40 minutes was free, while up to two hours cost £3.50. The trust previously charged £1.80 for up to one hour and £3.40 for one to two hours.
A two to four hour stay was now £6, up 20p, while four to six hours increased by 20p to £7.30.
A six to eight-hour stay remained the same at £12 while eight to 24 hours went up by £1 to £16.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased at University Hospital in Coventry and Hospital of St Cross in Rugby.
At University Hospital up to 10 minutes remained free. Up to one hour increased by 40p to £3.60, two hours went from £4.40 to £5, three hours increased by 70p to £5.70 and four hours went up by 80p to £6.80.
Stays of five hours increased by £1.10 to £8.90, up to six hours is £11, up from £9.70 and a 24-hour stay increased from £11 to £12.50.
At Hospital of St Cross, up to 30 minutes remained free. Up to three hours increased by 30p to £2.30, while up to five hours increased from £4.80 to £5.50. The tariff for up to 24 hours was now £9.70, up from £8.50.
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
The price of a two-hour stay increased by 40p, while stays of three, four and six hours increased by 30p, 40p and 20p respectively. There was no change to prices for a 24-hour stay, although overnight – between 6pm and 7am – increased by £1.
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350% increase in hospital flu cases
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
In 2023/34, the trust increased parking for up to one hour to £3.30 from £3.
One to two hours increased from £4 to £4.30, two to three hours increased from £4.50 to £4.80, three to four hours increased from £5 to £5.80, and four to five hours increased from £5.50 to £5.80.
There was no change to charges for 5-6 hours, 6-7 hours, 7-8 hours, 8-9 hours, 9-10 hours, 10-11 hours, 11-12 hours, 12-24 hours, or a weekly pass.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
One hour – up by 30p to £3.30
Two hours – up by 40p to £4.40
Three hours – up by 50p to £5.50
Four hours – up by 60p to £6.60
Five hours – up by 65p to £7.15
Six hours – up by 75p to £8.25
Eight hours – up by 85p to £9.35
Twenty-four hours – up by 90p to £9.90
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Charges increased at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Leigh Infirmary and the Freckleton Street multi-storey in November 2022.
Drop-offs and up to 30 minutes remained free, stays of up to two hours increased by 30p to £3.30, two to four hours and four to 24 hours increased by 50p to £5.50 and £7 respectively.
Charges at Wrightington Hospital and the Thomas Linacre Centre also increased in November 2022.
Drop-offs at up to 30 minutes remained free, while stays of up to one hour and one to two hours increased by 30p each to £2 and £3.
Two to four hours and four to 24 hours increased by 50p each to £5.50 and £7.
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust said charges were brought in line with nearby council car parks at its York, Scarborough and Bridlington sites as part of the installation of automatic number plate registrations in April 2023.
In York, up to one hour increased by 30p to £2.50, with a 60p increase for two hours (£5), a £1.10 increase for three hours (£7.50) and a 20p increase for four hours to £9. All-day passes increased by 10p to £10.
In Scarborough, one hour increased by 25p to £1.45, two hours increased by 40p to £2.90, three hours went from £3.50 to £4.35 and four hours increased from £4.50 to £5.80. An all-day pass increased by £1.20 to £7.20.
In Bridlington, stays of up to an hour were 20p cheaper at £1. Stays of two, three and four hours remained the same and an all-day pass was made 60p cheaper at £5.40.
UK
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell tells Nigel Farage ‘kneejerk’ migrant deportation plan won’t solve problem
The Archbishop of York has told Sky News the UK should resist Reform’s “kneejerk” plan for the mass deportation of migrants, telling Nigel Farage he is not offering any “long-term solution”.
Stephen Cottrell said in an interview with Trevor Phillips he has “every sympathy” with people who are concerned about asylum seekers coming to the country illegally.
But he criticised the plan announced by Reform on Tuesday to deport 600,000 people, which would be enabled by striking deals with the Taliban and Iran, saying it will not “solve the problem”.
Mr Cottrell is currently acting head of the Church of England while a new Archbishop of Canterbury is chosen.
Pic: Jacob King/PA Wire
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell in 2020.
File pic: PA
Phillips asked him: “What’s your response to the people who are saying the policy should be ‘you land here, unlawfully, you get locked up and you get deported straight away. No ifs, no buts’?”
Mr Cottrell said he would tell them “you haven’t solved the problem”, adding: “You’ve just put it somewhere else and you’ve done nothing to address the issue of what brings people to this country.
“And so if you think that’s the answer, you will discover in due course that all you have done is made the problem worse.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I have every sympathy with those who find this difficult, every sympathy – as I do with those living in poverty.
“But… we should actively resist the kind of isolationist, short term kneejerk ‘send them home’.”
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What do public make of Reform’s plans?
Nigel Farage at the launch of Reform UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers. Pic: PA
Asked if that was his message to the Reform leader, he said: “Well, it is. I mean, Mr Farage is saying the things he’s saying, but he is not offering any long-term solution to the big issues which are convulsing our world, which lead to this. And, I see no other way.”
You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News from 8.30am
Mr Farage, the MP for Clacton, was asked at a news conference this week what he would say if Christian leaders opposed his plan.
“Whoever the Christian leaders are at any given point in time, I think over the last decades, quite a few of them have been rather out of touch, perhaps with their own flock,” he said.
“We believe that what we’re offering is right and proper, and we believe for a political party that was founded around the slogan of family, community, country that we are doing right by all of those things, with these plans we put forward today.”
Sky News has approached Mr Farage for comment.
In the hospital which was supposed to help her, the last moments of 14-year-old Ruth Szymankiewicz’s life were recorded on CCTV.
The teenager, who should have been under constant supervision on the children’s psychiatric ward, was left alone by her support worker at Taplow Manor Hospital in Berkshire. Fifteen minutes later, she had fatally self-harmed.
The worker assigned to her had only one-and-a-half days’ training and had faked his identity using false documents.
CCTV footage showed Ruth Szymankiewicz left alone
Earlier this month, a jury at the inquest into Ruth’s death concluded she was unlawfully killed. Despite this, there have been no criminal prosecutions.
Speaking to Sky News and The Independent in their first TV interview, Ruth’s father, Mark, said: “She went somewhere that was supposed to be helping her, and it made her worse. The isolation and lack of access to her family had a massively negative impact.”
Ruth Szymankiewicz’s parents spoke to Sky News about her death
Her mother, Kate, added: “The children get lost. Ruth got lost. She was lost in the middle of all this chaos.”
Ruth’s parents have said the hospital’s strict visiting regime meant they were unable to see their daughter as often as they had wanted. Her father never saw her room.
“Her access to us was denied,” Mark said. “We were willing and able to give that support. It completely derailed her.”
The family believe that if Ruth had been allowed regular contact with them, she would still be alive.
Ruth’s parents Kate and Mark
History of failings
The failures at Taplow Manor were well-documented. Investigations by Sky News and The Independent uncovered disturbing evidence about the treatment of young people.
There were numerous critical reports, including three from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulator in the year leading up to Ruth’s death, each one highlighting unsafe practices.
Despite this, the NHS continued to send vulnerable children there.
Ruth Szymankiewicz died in February 2022. Pic: Family handout via PA
At Ruth’s inquest, an NHS clinician in charge of commissioning her care admitted they knew about the issues at the hospital.
The inquest heard there were no other psychiatric intensive care units close enough to send her to.
Steph Smith was a former patient at Taplow Manor – then known as The Huntercombe Hospital Maidenhead – in 2017, who later went on to work at the unit as a healthcare assistant between September 2021 and February 2022.
She described the ward as “chaotic, scary and intense”.
Steph Smith was a former patient at Taplow Manor
“There was a huge culture of covering things up,” she said.
“Observations weren’t done. People just signed the paperwork at the end of the shift. On paper, it looked fine, but in reality, children were left at risk.
“It was only a matter of time. It breaks my heart that it took a 14-year-old girl dying for the hospital to close. It should have been shut years ago.”
Staff warned managers
Nurse Ellesha Branaghan worked as a clinical team leader on Ruth’s ward. She and colleagues warned managers about shortages on the rota.
“We would often tell them the staffing levels weren’t safe but we just kept getting told these are the numbers,” she said.
She said a lack of staffing often meant patients could not go on leave, or even visit the hospital gardens.
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Teenager’s death in psychiatric care ruled unlawful killing
There were occasions, she said, when patient observation levels were decreased because there were not enough staff on shift.
“Sometimes we would have four or five incidents at the same time,” she added. “We didn’t have the staff to respond, so that becomes unsafe.”
The staffing levels became “so severe” that even patients wrote to senior managers to express concerns.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “All providers must operate to the highest standards and the NHS worked with young people and families to move patients from Taplow Manor to other clinically appropriate services.”
The ‘loophole’
Taplow Manor was finally closed in 2023. The CQC had visited the hospital just 11 days before Ruth’s death.
High-level feedback was given following this, highlighting concerns with the environment, care plans not being followed and staffing levels.
After further inspections in March 2022, the watchdog issued a warning notice about failings in patient observations.
But once a warning notice is issued, that particular issue cannot be the subject of a criminal prosecution – something Ruth’s parents describe as a “loophole”.
Pic: Family handout
Mark said the CQC opened an investigation into his daughter’s death and looked at a “number of different routes to potentially prosecute the Active Care Group”.
Active Care Group acquired the Huntercombe Group, which ran Taplow Manor, in December 2021.
Mark said the regulator was not “allowed or able to prosecute, even though the same failing happened with catastrophic consequences”.
‘No justice for Ruth’
The CQC said it did carry out a full criminal investigation but the evidence “did not meet the threshold”.
It added that there was no suggestion the outcome would have been different if there had been no warning notice.
For Ruth’s parents, this is unacceptable.
“Why did our daughter have to die before anyone paid attention?” Kate asked. “They knew all this before she died.”
The inquest ruling of unlawful killing has brought no comfort to Ruth’s family.
“There can be no justice for Ruth,” her father said. “She’s dead, she’s gone. We’re left with the fallout.”
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‘Gaping hole in our family will never be filled’
A CQC spokesperson said the regulator began a criminal investigation in November 2022 but “found that there was not sufficient evidence to charge”.
“We know that this was disappointing for Ruth’s family, and we met with them to explain how we came to this decision,” the spokesperson added.
“We have a range of enforcement powers available to us and criminal action is only an option when the evidence demonstrates without any doubt that there have been organisational failings that can be proven to the required legal threshold.”
Following Ruth’s death, the CQC continued to visit the unit. A report published just six months later raised more concerns over observations, saying “there had been 22 incidents involving poor practice with observing young people”.
It went on: “The incidents ranged from staff falling asleep, not following young people when they left the room and completing other tasks whilst they were meant to be observing someone.”
It was rated inadequate in December 2022, before its closure.
Ex-patients voice concerns
Ruth’s case echoes concerns raised by other former patients.
Amber Rehman, who was admitted to Huntercombe Hospital in 2019, said: “Ruth’s story – I’ve heard so many similar stories. It could happen to anyone. It could still be happening out there.”
Amber’s mother, Nikki, said: “It was absolutely preventable. No one made changes.”
Amber Rehman
Amber’s family made a formal complaint about the care she received.
An independent review was commissioned by the hospital, which found issues with observations – including missing observation records – and an over-reliance on physical intervention and medication.
The review – which was published exactly a year before Ruth harmed herself – recommended an audit of the observation records, and said the way the hospital communicated and engaged with families should be looked at.
Pic: Family handout
Sky News has seen two other independent reports commissioned by the hospital before Ruth died, raising similar concerns – including engagement and communication with the patient’s family.
Fifty former patients came forward to our investigation in 2022 to share their experience of this hospital and a number of other units run by the same provider.
Many have told us how they still struggle with trauma from what they faced while under its care – some have formal diagnosis of PTSD due to it.
Sky News understands that 58 former patients are now taking legal action against around 30 psychiatrists who worked at various Huntercombe hospitals over two decades.
Sky News investigations into Huntercombe Group units:
‘Blood on the walls’: Shocking truth of life on mental health unit
Thirty ex-patients reached out to Sky News after initial probe
‘Inadequate staffing’ at hospital ‘put young people at risk’
A statement from Active Care Group said: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ruth’s family, friends, and all those affected by her passing. We deeply regret the tragic event that occurred, and we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused
“We directed significant investment in staff training, recruitment, and the hospital estate, spending more than £3m on the physical environment alone over an 18-month period.
“Despite these efforts, by early 2023, it became clear that achieving the high standards of care that reflect our core values would not be possible within an acceptable timescale.
“In recent years, we have made significant improvements to the quality and safety in all of our services.
“We are regrettably unable to comment on historical allegations relating to care provided under previous ownership or management.”
Elli Investments Group, owners of The Huntercombe Group until 2021, previously told us: “We regret that these hospitals and specialist care services, which were owned and independently managed by The Huntercombe Group, failed to meet the expected standards for high-quality care.”
Pictures of Ruth at the family home
‘Our lives are darker without her’
Ruth’s parents, who are both doctors working in the NHS, are calling on the government to close what they see as the “legal loophole” in the powers the CQC has to prosecute.
They also want to strengthen safeguards for children in mental health units by ensuring parents have visitation rights to their children.
“Ruth died under the care of the state,” her mother, Kate, said.
“We very much hope that secretaries of state for health and for mental health are listening to Ruth’s story, and that they can use this opportunity, particularly to make sure that children have unrestricted access to their families.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Ruth’s family and friends. This is a shocking case and it is clear care at Huntercombe Hospital fell far below the standards we expect.
“Where appropriate the CQC can bring prosecutions where a provider has failed to comply with a warning notice, and we are clear that those that harm patients through negligence or mismanagement should face the consequences.
“We are investing £75m this year to reduce inappropriate out of area placements, increasing family involvement in patient care through the Mental Health Bill, and driving up standards through the 10 Year Plan so everyone receives the level of care they deserve.”
Ruth’s parents are both struggling with the lack of accountability over their daughter’s death, especially the decision by the CQC not to prosecute.
“We don’t have faith the system will make sure changes happen,” Mark said.
“Governance has been completely ineffectual. Until there is real accountability, nothing will stop this happening again.”
Kate added: “Our lives are darker without her. Ruth was unique and wonderful. She kept us wholehearted in everything we did. Now she’s gone.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
The Appeal Court judge who ruled in favour of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the Epping migrant hotel case is a long-standing Labour supporter.
Lord Justice David Bean, 71, is a former treasurer of the Society of Labour Lawyers and chaired the left-leaning Fabian Society, which is affiliated to the Labour Party, in 1989 and 1990.
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He was also – with Sir Tony Blair’s barrister wife Cherie – a founder member in 2000 of the left-wing Matrix Chambers, whose members include the current attorney general, Lord Hermer.
The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, is at the centre of a legal battle. Pic: PA
On its website, the Society of Labour Lawyers describes itself as “a thinktank and affiliated socialist society which provides legal and policy advice to the Labour Party”.
Founded in 1948 by a future Labour lord chancellor Gerald Gardiner, it declares: “Our objectives are to contribute legal expertise to the Labour Party and uphold the principles of justice, liberty, equality, and the rule of law in the UK and around the world.
“We advise Labour MPs and the House of Lords; develop and scrutinise policy and legislation; contribute to debate within the Labour movement by hosting events and discussions; and mentor future members of the legal profession.
“We are open to Labour Party members who are also practising or retired lawyers, law students or graduates, academics, and members of the judiciary.”
The Fabian Society describes itself as “a democratically governed socialist society, a Labour affiliate and one of the party’s original founders”.
But Lord Justice Bean isn’t the only judge at the centre of the legal battle over The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, who has a political background and affiliation.
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Inside the asylum hotel protests
Sir Stephen Eyre, the High Court judge who ruled in favour of Epping Forest Council earlier this month, was a Conservative parliamentary candidate four times.
His most high-profile bid to become an MP came in the 2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election, won by current Labour MP and former minister Liam Byrne.
Sir Stephen Eyre. Pic: Judicial Appointments Commission/Ministry of Justice
Appointed a High Court judge by then Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab in 2021, Sir Stephen was a Tory candidate while working as a barrister.
His first attempt came in 1987, when he stood in Hodge Hill in that year’s general election, coming second behind Labour’s Terry Davis.
Then in 1992, the year of Sir John Major’s 21-seat election victory, he stood for the Northern Ireland Conservatives in the unionist stronghold of Strangford.
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Mr Eyre, as he then was, came fourth behind the official Unionists’ John Taylor, with current Democratic Unionist MP for Antrim East Sammy Wilson in second place.
In 2001, he stood in Stourbridge, where he again came second, this time to Labour’s Debra Shipley, when he cut her majority from nearly 6,000 to under 4,000.
And in the 2004 by-election, he came a distant third as Mr Byrne scraped in by just 460 votes ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who benefited from an Iraq war backlash.
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