Cruelty in mental health units has ‘absolutely no place in modern healthcare’, says BMA

Press release from the British Medical Association.

 

The British Medical Association have hit back at claims of abuse within NHS mental health units.

Responding to a report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which found that the human rights of many patients with a learning disability or autism are being breached in mental health hospitals, Dr Andrew Molodynski, BMA mental health policy lead, said:

“Patients, particularly those who are vulnerable, have the right to feel safe when they use the NHS, but as this report shows, there are dark corners of the health service that are breeding harsh and abusive cultures - and it has to stop.

“The NHS has committed to improving mental health services, but progress is too slow, and we need urgent change. This includes making sure that staff working in psychiatric facilities are properly trained, patients are treated close to home, and that above all, their human rights remain unthreatened.

“This is not an example of the health service many of us recognise and it is shameful that anyone in our care would ever be subject to such barbaric and cruel behaviour. There is absolutely no place for this in modern healthcare, and every effort must be made to ensure improvements are made as a matter of urgency.”