‘Horror stories’ spark calls for Gloucestershire mental health hospital probe
A Sky News report which showed staff photographed asleep at work and patients on the roof.
The “horror stories” coming out of Wotton Lawn come as no surprise according to civic chiefs who have long heard of staff struggling at the mental health hospital in Gloucester.
Councillors responsible for scrutinising health services in the county requested yesterday (May 23) an official briefing and want to quiz hospital bosses about the failures recently reported there.
Health overview and scrutiny committee (HOSC) members were shocked to hear of a Sky News report which showed staff photographed asleep at work and patients on the roof.
Also a Freedom of Information request made by the BBC revealed yesterday that Gloucestershire Constabulary received 97 reports of patients missing from Wotton Lawn between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022.
Over the same period, the force received 4,611 phone calls relating to the unit.
HOSC chairman Andrew Gravells (C, Abbey), speaking during the meeting, asked if any of the health chiefs present had any knowledge of what’s going on at Wotton Lawn.
Des Gorman, strategy and partnerships deputy director at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, said there was a report on Sky News and the trust had made a statement.
“That’s on the report and that’s the current position of the trust. We can forward the statement to you,” he said.
Cllr Gravells also asked if anyone from the NHS Gloucestershire Intergrated Care Board (ICB) had been “tipped off or alerted”.
ICB Deputy CEO Ellen Rule said they were aware of the statement that was made by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Councillor Collette Finnegan (C, Abbeydale) said she was “not at all surprised” by the situation at Wotton Lawn.
She said: “I know one nurse has recently left Wotton Lawn after working there for over 20 years. And the stories that she told me were quite awful.
“She came to me as the health champion. And I said to her to go and talk to management, etc.
“But she didn’t feel she would be supported and after working there for so long, being injured by patients, etc, some real horror stories and she’s left. She said she wasn’t the only one who was going to leave so I’m not surprised by this story because I’ve been hearing about it for some years.”
Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach) said he did raise concerns about a sad case which happened in his division where people lost their lives.
He asked for a full briefing around the issue at the next meeting and the possibility to ask questions. There’s obviously a lot going on here.”
Cllr Gravells said he would like a briefing on what the current issues are.
He said: “Surely as HOSC we are entitled to know when there are these major stories affecting services and the NHS in Gloucestershire.”
A spokesperson for the trust said they acknowledge they do not get everything right.
They said they actively seek and encourage feedback from people who use their services as well as trust colleagues, because it’s the best way to bring about improvements.
“Our staff have a wide range of ways to raise concerns, including a direct, anonymous link to our Chief Executive, as well as our very active Freedom to Speak Up guardian. This is alongside regular staff meetings, support from their immediate managers and access to support from our staff wellbeing services.
“Every piece of feedback we receive is recorded, discussed with colleagues and acted upon where needed. We also receive a lot of compliments about the care we provide.
“We know we do not get everything right, but our colleagues work hard, often in very difficult circumstances, to support our patients to recover and be safely discharged every day. Anyone who would like to share concerns should email experience@ghc.nhs.uk.”