NHS figures analysed by The Independent have found that a single children’s mental health hospital with just 59 beds reported more than 1,600 “sexual safety incidents” in four years. The hospital, Huntercombe Hospital (Taplow Manor) in Maidenhead was responsible for more than half of the sex investigations reported in the 209 children’s mental health units across the country. Despite warnings at a rate of more than one a day to the health service since 2019, no action was taken to stop vulnerable NHS patients being sent to the scandal-hit unit as a result of the 1,643 sexual incident reports.
The private unit is now finally due to be closed after the investigation by The Independent revealed allegations of verbal and physical abuse, prompting the NHS to withdraw patients. The hospital since said it plans to reopen as an adult unit.
Full story in The Independent, 11 April 2023
