More than 30 Nottinghamshire NHS staff suspended amid conduct probe

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs a number of sites including Highbury Hospital, said staff across the organisation had been suspended

More than 30 members of staff across an NHS trust have been suspended amid an ongoing investigation.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said it was looking into allegations about staff conduct.

It comes following a report in The Independent, which has detailed claims of serious misconduct at Highbury Hospital, a mental health facility in the county.

The trust said staff across the organisation had been suspended.

According to The Independent, the suspensions are a result of an internal investigation into allegations of "serious conduct" at Highbury Hospital.

The allegations, according to the report, include falsifying mental health observations, as well as maltreatment of patients.

'Investigate fully'

It comes after Rampton Hospital, a facility run by the same trust, was criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the watchdog found understaffing had caused patients to be locked in their rooms for extended periods.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "Nottinghamshire Healthcare is committed to ensuring we provide the very best and safest care we possibly can for our patients.

"We take any allegations against members of staff very seriously. Where there is an allegation that staff conduct has fallen below what we would expect for our patients, we will investigate fully and fairly and sometimes it is necessary to suspend staff members to enable this.

"Unfortunately, over recent weeks it has been necessary to suspend over 30 colleagues across the organisation whilst investigations take place.

"As investigations into these allegations are ongoing, we are unable to comment further."