Whorlton Hall: Carer denies mocking patients 'for cheap laughs'

Whorlton Hall in County Durham has since closed since the 2019 Panorama documentary

A carer has denied teasing and mocking patients at a secure hospital for what prosecutors called "cheap laughs".

Nine former workers at Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, deny 27 offences arising from an undercover BBC Panorama film in 2019.

Ryan Fuller, the fifth defendant to give evidence, faces 10 charges of ill treatment relating to five patients.

He told Teesside Crown Court staff would not "antagonise" patients as that led to incidents which "no-one wanted".

The court heard one woman was not verbal and would use Makaton sign language, although she used her own gestures and would get aggressive with staff when they did not understand her.

'Wasn't distressed'

Jurors were shown footage filmed by undercover reporter Olivia Davies, who posed as a new carer in January and February 2019, in which it is alleged Mr Fuller, 27, attempted to teach the woman how to make a V-sign.

Under questioning from his lawyer Christopher Knox, Mr Fuller denied it was "in any way" an attempt to "ill treat" the woman or cause her "any upset", adding: "She wasn't distressed at all."

He said the woman "didn't seem to be" interested in or following the conversation between Mr Fuller and Ms Davies.

Jurors were shown another video of Mr Fuller and a male patient posing for a picture appearing to put their middle fingers up, then dancing together.

Mr Fuller said the man had a "good sense of humour" but had a history of attempting to abscond, so staff wanted to "redirect" him if they felt, as Mr Fuller did on that occasion, that he was "trying to get away".

"Did you think you were doing anything wrong or ill treating him?" Mr Knox asked.

"No," Mr Fuller replied, adding he "got on well" with the man who "wasn't a serious guy".

'Violent and unpredictable'

In a clip filmed while another male patient was being restrained in a corridor, Mr Fuller could be seen removing the man's glasses and placing them on his own head, and also passing gum round to other members of staff, the court heard.

Mr Knox asked if either of those was an attempt to "humiliate" the man, to which Mr Fuller replied: "No."

He said he put the glasses on his head to keep them safe and while he accepted it might not have been the "best place" to pass round gum, he said doing so would take the attention off the man which might calm him down.

He also said the man, who was regularly violent and unpredictable, was calm a short while later which was "typical".

Mr Fuller is also accused of "threatening" an autistic woman with a preference for female carers that she would be looked after by men.

Mr Fuller said it was not a threat but a statement of fact because she had attacked her female carers and the only other staff who could monitor her were male.

Jurors were shown other footage of him appearing to demonstrate a restraint technique on a male patient.

Mr Fuller said the pair were joking and the man had lain down first to "mimic" being restrained.

"I was having a laugh and joke with him," Mr Fuller said, adding: "He seemed happy enough."

'Restraint not nice'

Another charge related to a man who required constant supervision by four staff and lived in a separate flat within the secure hospital.

He was accused of "mocking" the man, who went through a period of regularly attacking Mr Fuller, by using bad language towards him.

Mr Fuller said that was the way he and the man spoke to each other and the man enjoyed it and "laughed", adding: "I'd rather have that kind of relationship with him than walk in and get assaulted all the time.

Mr Fuller said the last thing staff would want to do was "upset" the patients as that would often have to lead to restraints.

"Nobody wants to wind anyone up, especially in Whorlton," Mr Fuller said, adding: "Lying on a hard floor for hours at an end restraining somebody is not nice."

'Cheap laugh'

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Anne Richardson, Mr Fuller admitted he liked to be, in her words, a "joker" who tried to lighten the mood for other staff by making them laugh but denied it was done at the expense of patients or to antagonise them.

"Are you a man who likes to get a rise out of patients to have a cheap laugh?" Ms Richardson asked.

"No," Mr Fuller replied.

He admitted asking a staff member to delete the picture of him and the patient swearing but said it was not because the patient had been upset.

Mr Fuller said he was a senior carer at that point and though the man swore "a lot every day", he didn't think the picture would be "classed as professional".

'Plenty of humour'

Niall Mellor, 26, who faces two allegations, said patients could be "very hard work" and other than being taught restraining techniques, there was no training on what was acceptable behaviour for staff to use towards patients.

In relation to a man who could be violent, Mr Mellor said the patient had a "great personality" when he was in a "good mood" and "you could have a laugh with him".

Mr Mellor said there was "banter" between patients and staff and there was "plenty of humour at times".

He said there was another man, who required constant supervision by four people costing the NHS £1m a year, who was "very, very complex" and at times "scary to work with" due to his aggression and use of violence.

During the restraint of the man in 2018, a carer - who is not one of those charged - punched the man in an open wound in his head, Mr Mellor said.

He added that while that happened a nurse who Mr Mellor said was having an affair with the carer stood by and said nothing.

Mr Mellor said he reported both to managers and the Care Quality Commission with the pair ultimately being dismissed, which the court heard was evidence of the defendant being ready to challenge unacceptable behaviour in the hospital.

'Disgusted in myself'

The court was shown footage of Mr Mellor chatting with colleagues, including Ms Davies, in which he described a patient as a "retard".

He said: "[It was] wholly unprofessional and I hold my hands up and apologise for that.

"I've said many things I shouldn't have and I'm disgusted in myself."

Mr Mellor said he did "definitely not" dislike any of the patients and, upon reflection, he felt staff were "coerced" into saying things by Ms Davies.

He said: "At the time I felt like she flirted with people and we would flirt back trying to act like Jack the lad and say stupid things and ultimately I was really wrong in doing so."

He said he felt "appalled in myself" watching the documentary and the world had "not reacted well at all", adding he was kicked off his masters course at university, friends no longer spoke to him and he been "attacked multiple times" in the street.

"Although you may have said unkind things about the patients, were you unkind to their face?" his lawyer Robin Patton asked.

Mr Mellor replied: "Although what I said was wrong, my physical interactions with the patients did not reflect the things I said."

The court has heard Whorlton Hall had 17 bedrooms for people with extreme behavioural difficulties, many of whom were sectioned.

It closed in the wake of the Panorama documentary.

The nine accused face the following number of charges of ill treatment of a person in care:

• John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington - two

• Darren Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington - two

• Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland - two

• Sara Banner, 33, of Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe - three

• Matthew Banner, 43, of the same address - six

• Ryan Fuller, 27, of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle - 10

• Sabah Mahmood, 27, of Woodland Crescent, Kelloe - one

• Peter Bennett, 52, of Redworth Road, Billingham - three

• Karen McGhee, 54, of Wildair Close, Darlington - two

The trial continues.