Hospital to close children's mental health unit amid allegations
The Health Secretary has welcomed the news that a Coventry hospital which has faced allegations of abuse is to close its children's mental health unit.
Wes Streeting said that allegations made about the children and adolescent mental health service provided at Joyce Parker Hospital were "truly shocking".
Cygnet, which runs the hospital, said that it refutes any allegations of abuse.
But it announced the forthcoming closure of the provision for children and adolescents with mental health needs.
Mr Streeting said the decision was the "right one" and he said that work was being done to provide new placements for patients.
The hospital website says that it is a 42-bed "state-of-the-art" Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) hospital in Coventry caring for patients aged 12-18 with mental health needs.
In September last year, the Care Quality Commission rated it as "requires improvement".
It said that "not all staff were discreet, respectful, and responsive when caring for children and young people".
Patients told inspectors that staff "did not always treat them well and behave kindly".
Inspectors also had concerns that staff at the hospital "did not always follow best practice in managing distressed and agitated behaviours".
They were particularly concerned about the frequency of use of rapid tranquilisation for one young person, which meant the patient was being sedated on an "almost daily basis".
The hospital has since faced a number of allegations of abuse, published in an expose by The Independent.
Asked about the newspaper report at an Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) event in London, Mr Streeting said: "On that case specifically, that is truly shocking the way in which children were treated in a place where they were supposed to be safe.
"We think the closure decision was the right one, we're working to make sure appropriate placements are provided for those young people.
"I think it is actually a truly terrifying example of what happens when patient safety is not taken seriously.
"We have got to make sure that everything we are doing throughout our health and care services, the safety of the patient, the safety of the user is the first consideration."
A Cygnet spokesperson said: "We can confirm that no warning notices from the CQC have been published and we are still in dialogue with the regulator following their recent visit.
"As part of these discussions, we refute the allegations of abuse however we have acknowledged, through the safeguarding procedures that we follow, that we reported some inappropriate use of restraint during very difficult circumstances and in line with our duty as a responsible provider.
"After careful consideration, we have made the decision to change the services offered at the hospital and to discontinue our Child and Adolescent Mental Health provision at the site.
"The hospital remains open as we make these changes and our immediate priority is to continue supporting the young people in our care.
"We will work with our partners, including commissioners, CQC, service users and their families, to ensure each patient has a smooth transfer to a new setting, best suited to their individual needs.
"We remain committed to providing the highest standards of care at Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital in the future."