Carers who abused patients challenge sentence

Matthew Banner and Peter Bennett were found guilty of abusing patients while working at Whorlton Hall

Two men who were filmed mistreating vulnerable patients at a hospital have challenged their convictions.

Peter Bennett, 55, and Matthew Banner, 44, were found guilty of ill-treating patients at Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Nine months after their sentencing, lawyers challenged the men's convictions at the Court of Appeal, arguing their actions "did not meet the test for ill-treatment".

The men were recorded by undercover BBC Panorama reporter Olivia Davies, who used a hidden camera to expose the poor treatment the patients received behind closed doors in 2019.

Lord Justice Singh, sitting alongside Mrs Justice May and Mr Justice Griffiths, said judges would give their ruling over the appeals at a later date.

Patients mocked

At a trial last year, the court heard staff at Whorlton Hall supported patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act and required 24-hour care.

Bennett and Banner were both sentenced to four-month jail terms, suspended for 18 months, on two and five charges of ill-treatment respectively.

Prosecutors said there appeared to have been a "culture of inappropriate behaviour" at the hospital, claiming there was "minimal training", it was understaffed and caring for patients was "extremely challenging".

The trial was told patients were distressed as they were verbally abused, mocked and wound up by some of the staff at the hospital.

Lawyers for Matthew Banner and Peter Bennett argued their actions "did not meet the test for ill-treatment"

During their sentencing hearing, the court heard Bennett caused distress to one patient with a fear of balloons and spoke in French to another patient with communication problems, before intimidating her.

David Callan, representing Bennett, said his client "may not have been professional" but it was "not ill-treatment".

"This is extremely demanding work and if the bar is put so low to turn what might be unprofessional behaviour into a crime, I do not think that is a sensible development of the law," Mr Callan added.

Stephen Constantine, representing Banner, said: "It cannot surely be that every kind of unfavourable treatment, rough handling or unsympathetic dealings, can necessarily amount to ill-treatment."

Anne Richardson, representing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it did not fall on prosecutors to "prove there was a physical or mental injury towards the person it has impacted", just that ill-treatment had occurred.

Bennett and Banner were convicted alongside Ryan Fuller and John Sanderson, who were also found guilty of ill-treatment charges.