Vulnerable mental health patients forced to sleep on mattresses on floor
Inspectors discovered that because of a chronic lack of beds they had been put in unfurnished "seclusion rooms"
Nick Owens
Vulnerable mental health patients had to sleep on mattresses on the floor of an NHS hospital.
Inspectors discovered that because of a chronic lack of beds they had been put in unfurnished "seclusion rooms", which are usually reserved for people who are a threat to others.
A team from the Care Quality Commission visited St Ann's Hospital in Haringey, North London, in July and concluded that it failed to meet minimum standards of patient care and welfare.
Whistleblowing nurses told inspectors that seclusion rooms had been used as patient bedrooms for 29 nights in May and June.
Anita Hudson of mental health charity Mind in Haringey said: "The number of people who suffer mental illness is set to double in the next 20 years.
"How can they hope to cope when they reduce the number of beds available?"
The CQC ordered the hospital trust to provide a report outlining what improvements would be made.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "Because of an exceptionally high demand for in-patient beds nationally, we have occasionally had to use alternatives for emergency out-of-hours admissions.
"This is an exceptional and temporary measure as the patient is moved as soon as we have the capacity on one of our wards."
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