Nurses loath to report abuse of the elderly

The Guardian August 29, 2007

More than half of nurses would not report the abuse of an elderly person in their care, according to a survey published today. The poll of NHS and private sector nurses, conducted for Help the Aged, found that a lack of training, heavy workloads and fear of confrontation or of upsetting the victim all prevent nurses taking action.

The findings come amid growing evidence that elder abuse is a widespread problem in families, care homes and hospitals. A study by the National Centre for Social Research and Kings College London suggested that 342,000 older people living in private households are subject to some form of mistreatment every year in the UK. A report by the parliamentary joint committee on human rights this month highlighted significant levels of abuse and neglect suffered by older people in care homes and hospitals.

Pin Down by Teresa Cooper
Reviewed in Community care
23 August

Cooper's recollected experiences of the

London care home where she was placed

in 1981 by social services makes painful reading.     She describes how she was regularly administered a range of anti-psychotic and sedative drugs, and had fortnightly urine and blood tests. These tests were seemingly not logged with the GP or hospitals. She doesn't know where the tests were sent or what they were for.

Days spent in an isolation unit are vividly depicted. When she challenged staff, she was often forcibly injected: "A sudden searing pain shot through my bum, down my legs and through my back. I screamed with every last bit of energy I had, petrified that they were trying to kill methen I felt a potent mixture of drugs pumping through my system, immobilising me, shutting me down on all levels."

Royal College of Psychiatrists seeks sex incident audits

23 August 2007

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has called for all psychiatric units to carry out regular audits of sexual behaviour, complaints and allegations of harassment or abuse, to ensure incidents are not hushed up. In guidance issued yesterday on sexual boundary issues in psychiatric settings, the college said that all units must have policies on acceptable sexual behaviour, harassment and abuse, to balance patients’ autonomy and protection.

Link to download guidelines

Therapist 'seduced patients and turned them into sex slaves'

Daily Mail 18th August 2007

Admittedly, she knew their relationship was unconventional. He was her psychotherapist at the NHS clinic where she was admitted in the early 1990s suffering from chronic anorexia and weighing just four and a half stone.

But Britten convinced her that a sexual relationship with him was essential to her recovery. In effect, he told her, he was saving her life.

If she resisted him, he cancelled their appointments. He isolated her from other staff, told her he loved her, seduced her in his locked office and when he had her heart, sadistically toyed with it until she was driven to the point of suicide.

Sex pervert may have abused up to 135 girls at anorexic clinic
Daily Mail 14th August 2007

More than 100 vulnerable women battling anorexia and bulimia could have been sexually abused by a senior nurse at an NHS clinic. David Britten, 53, preyed on women and teenagers while they were being treated for serious eating disorders.

He was eventually struck off after an independent investigation and eight women won compensation for their ordeal. But there are fears dozens more may have been abused while being treated at the clinic in London.

A catalogue of abuse: report demands law to protect elderly in hospitals and care homes

The Guardian August 15, 2007

Vulnerable elderly people are being subjected to neglect, abuse, discrimination and ill-treatment in the hospitals and care homes that should be looking after them, according to a report published today by a parliamentary committee.

The study by the joint committee on human rights warns that many older people are facing maltreatment ranging from physical neglect so severe they are left lying in their own faeces or urine to malnutrition and dehydration through lack of help with eating.

Doctor charged with sex assault
BBC News 9th August

Rashid Sandhu, 29, a doctor at the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston, faces 17 charges of making indecent photographs of a child.

He will appear at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court on 10 September and has been suspended from duties. The hospital issued a contact number for anyone concerned about the matter. It is 01493 453240.

Adrian Pennington, chief executive of the hospital, said: "As soon as the police contacted the trust with serious allegations, a full investigation was launched.  "The doctor was immediately excluded from duty at the hospital and the trust continues to work closely with the police."

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