Mental health complainants fear reprisals - study

Patients in mental health wards fear reprisals if they raise complaints, says a new study

Mental health patients subjected to abuse on wards do not formally complain as they "do not want to expose themselves to any risk of revenge" from staff, academics say.

A study by the University of Hertfordshire, involving 21 patients and two carers, uncovered more than 750 incidents of violence and coercion by staff, few of which were reported.

The researchers suggested social workers should be present on wards, with staff also required to wear body cameras to protect patients.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said staff committing acts of violence should be removed and prosecuted.

Dr Brian Littlechild, a professor of social work at the University of Hertfordshire, and Chris Munt, a mental health acting manager at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Trust, spent months "working on trust" with the service users and carers before noting their experiences.

'Disturbing findings'

Claims of violence and coercion allegedly committed by staff included patients being physically restrained, verbally abused, being moved with force and being deliberately ignored.

Eight patients told researchers that one or two staff were responsible for abuse against them, while 18 said acts were witnessed by other patients or staff.

Only four official complaints were made, according to researchers, with just one upheld.

Mr Munt said: "The preoccupation for many patients is that they do not want to expose themselves to any risk of revenge."

He added that patients said they did not complain as they had no confidence it would lead to disciplinary action.

'Actively humiliated'

Of the group, eight patients had been pinned down by multiple staff 37 times over the course of several years, and there were more than 100 instances of severe verbal abuse.

Mr Munt said patients "that were of a certain size or shape or orientation or gender" would be "actively humiliated on a regular basis, often with the same staff, using the same language in a very derogatory fashion".

Dr Littlechild added, staff "will often work quite hard to keep things quiet", to protect their trust's reputation.

The academics have a made a number of recommendations, including conducting unannounced drop-in inspections on mental health wards, trialling staff wearing body cameras, and an overhaul of the complaints procedure.

Mr Munt also suggested having a social worker on all mental health units would be "really helpful" and act as a "strong moderator" in terms of ward culture.

An NHS spokesperson said it was "unacceptable" mental health patients reported feeling this way.

They added NHS England "sets out the culture of care expected across all mental health hospitals, including ensuring patients feel safe and are able to raise concerns".

The government described the findings as "disturbing" and encouraged patients to report abuse.

"Patient safety is paramount and any staff committing acts of violence or abuse should be removed permanently and face the full force of the law," it said.