NHS-funded abuse scandal hospital was visited by inspectors 225 times in just 16 months but none spotted 'appalling' treatment of its 12 patients

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The NHS-funded hospital at the centre of an abuse scandal was inspected 225 times in just 16 months - and no one spotted the 'appalling' treatment of the vulnerable adults there.

Workers at Whorlton Hall in County Durham were filmed calling one patient a 'fat c***' and told another her family were 'f***ing poison'. 

The undercover investigation for BBC Panorama, which captured staff continuously taunting, intimidating and restraining patients, has triggered a probe by Durham Constabulary and seen 16 employees suspended. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was 'deeply sorry' for what happened.  

But it can now be revealed the 12-patient specialist centre was visited on 225 occasions by 30 separate agencies between March 2018 and April 2019.   

A female patient at Wholrton Hall in County Durham is pictured being restrained by a care worker

Another patient is pictured lying on the floor at Whorlton Hall, which was subject to a BBC Panorama investigation 

Another patient is pictured being shouted at by a careworker at Whorlton Hall, Co Durham 

The sheer number of visits by inspectors and other experts who were responsible for the health and care of the 12 adults with learning difficulties raises serious questions about why the abuse was not picked up sooner. 

A total of seven GP, 78 CCG, 51 local authority, 57 independent advocacy, seven CQC, 11 Local Authority Safeguarding Team and 14 police visits were made in 16 months.   

The investigation saw reporter Olivia Davies go undercover as a care worker for two months to investigate claims by whistleblowers of mistreatment and poor care. 

She filmed shocking scenes of staff using offensive language to describe patients, with two male staff members singling out a female patient for particular abuse.

Aware she was scared of men, they left her distressed while trying to keep her quiet by claming her room would be inundated with men - or 'pressing the man button'.

On other occasions the workers can be heard within her earshot using explicit sexual language, and one threatened to 'deck her' if she tries to run at staff. 

Glynis Murphy, an expert in clinical psychology and disability at the University of Kent, told the programme that the treatment was like 'psychological torture'. 

The hospital promises therapeutic care for around 12 adults with learning disabilities or autism

The professor said: 'She is stuck there, she can't get away. It is a secure unit. And they are deliberately taunting her and deliberately upsetting her.'

Dr Paul Lelliott, of the Care Quality Commission, which previously rated the hospital as good, has apologised that it did not pick up on the abuse.

Dr Lelliott claimed the last inspection was carried out on March 2018. But it can now be revealed the CQC made seven visits to Whorlton Hall between March 2018 and April 2019.

The most recent one was in April 2019, before the watchdog was made aware of the Panorama allegations, when four inspectors carried out a long-term segregation review that lasted nine hours.

The hospital also had 11 separate safeguarding visits from the local authority, which the company said has resulted in all issues raised being resolved.

According to Cygnet, the company that took over Whorlton Hall in January this year, there were also some 144 visitors from the NHS and Clinical Commissioning Groups as well as 75 from local authority and 57 independent advocacy monitoring visits and 7 GP visits.

In total, this amounted to 225 visits between January 2018 and 4 May 2019 – an average of at least 13 every month. No safeguarding issues were raised.

The abuse was only raised when BBC Panorama contacted the hospital with allegations of the abuse. 

Cygnet has said in a statement that it then contacted the police, the CQC and other authorities. 

The Panorama investigation, which aired last night, also revealed several incidents physical restraint, which should only be used to prevent a patient harming themselves or others.

Workers at Whorlton Hall in County Durham were filmed talking about the adults they care for

Birmingham City University autism expert Andrew McDonnell, who develops training aimed at limiting restraint, said: 'Restraint should be momentary. It should be short. 

'It should be with as few staff as possible, without an audience. If there is no immediate risk of harm you back off. You're talking a threshold of minute of two.'

But one restraint saw a patient held down for nearly ten minutes, with a worker holding his head between his knees, while handing out chewing gum to colleagues. 

The patient's possessions were removed from his room and shown to him while he was still being restrained - something Mr McDonnell described as cruel punishment. 

In another incident filmed undercover for the programme, a patient was deliberately antagonised by a care worker, who removed a poster from his wall. 

When the patient reacted, the staff members threatened him by saying: 'Get in there, punch me and see what happens. I'll put you through the floor.' 

The hospital staff have been caught on camera in an undercover investigation by Panorama

Six care workers claimed to the reporter that they had deliberately hurt patients – including one who described banging a patient's head against the floor.

Arriving at an event at The King's Fund in central London, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'I'm deeply sorry on behalf of the whole health and care system for what's happened.

'Some of the scenes that were seen on Panorama last night were awful, they need to be dealt with.

'So we have put in place already action to make sure that every single case is reviewed.

'Not just here, but right across the system, because people need to get the right care in the right setting that works for them.'

Today care minister Caroline Dinenage told the House of Commons she was also 'deeply sorry that this has happened'. 

Talking to MPs, she said: 'We won't tolerate having people out of sight and out of mind. 

'Where someone with a learning disability or an autistic person has to be an inpatient out of area, they will be now visited every six weeks if they are a child or every eight weeks if they are an adult.'

But the number of visits to Whorlton Hall had far exceeded these targets, and the abuse was still missed.

Anna Kennedy OBE, who runs the charity 'Raising Autism Awareness said of the high number of inspections:

Hospital owner Cygnet has suspended 16 workers and Durham police have begun a probe

'What are these inspectors looking at if they can't see the alarm bells in places like this? 

'I've been into hospitals where it's almost like they've got bodyguards. And I think : 'Is this a prison?' I get a gut instinct when I go into places and I can tell when it's not right.

'I think they should have CCTV in these places, the inspectors need more training to spot how the carers are working with the adults, how well they're interacting. 

'There may be some who are doing a good job but many will just be ticking boxes.'

Anna, who has two autistic sons, said of the Panorama expose: 'I hear such horror stories and this is my fear of what might happen to my boys when I am too old to look after them. 

'Is he going to go into a place like this where he's cared for by his so-called carers? It made me feel physically sick.'     

And a Cygnet spokesman said: 'We have suspended all the members of staff involved (and) simultaneously informed all relevant authorities, including the police.'

The company added that it transferred all of the patients to other hospitals, and it has a 'zero tolerance of unprofessional conduct towards them'.

The latest investigation comes eight years after Panorama exposed abuse at another specialist hospital for vulnerable adults, Winterbourne View near Bristol. 

The investigation saw Panorama reporter Olivia Davies (pictured) go undercover as a care worker for two months to investigate claims by whistleblowers of mistreatment and poor care