Serious life ending Sexual assault on a stroke ward

It is utterly awful. I am sure the family is calling for heads and the CEO of the trust should have to resign.

Cross post Bridget. I didn’t know those extra details especially about the male nurse. 😱

Yes it's terrible, and serious clinical errors and misjudgements were made that need to be explained. But I am not sure how the police can be blamed. They were called in a long time (in investigation terms) afterwards, and on what appeared to be an entirely unconnected matter. Post-mortems are not generally carried out 18 days after death, so it would seem that it was actually the thoroughness of the police investigations into allegations of mistreatment and neglect made several days afterwards that this death even came to light. By that time all possible evidence had gone. It doesn't matter how long you investigate something. If there is no evidence, then there is no evidence. I suspect that the unusually long delay in the coroners court was due to them turning over every stone they could, for several years, before coming to the conclusion they could not proceed any further.

Almost certain he will attack again. Without being indelicate and bearing in mind the (no doubt underplayed) horrific description of the injuries, there is no certainty that this was a man or a member of staff. Outrage is absolutely justified, but you cannot suspend people "until they speak the truth" when you have no evidence that they are lying.

What I would like to hear about is the wider context, because there was certainly something seriously awry in that ward and again, justified as the outrage is, the risk is that that fact gets lost.

This also happened at this hospital.
I always drive extra carefully while passing through the Blackpool area on the motorway up to Scotland. The hospital seems like a very dangerous dreadful place to be avoided at all costs.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-67706765?app-referrer=deep-link

That's horrifying and even more concerning if it were a member of staff working with vulnerable patients who hasn't been identified and may still be a healthcare worker. Though obviously, it could have been another patient.

So due to staff actions, valuable evidence was lost. It was the police who picked up that Valerie’s death should be investigated, and the police who have been investigating for the last 5 years +

but it’s the police who should hang their heads in shame?

how are they supposed to secure a charge with no evidence? Perhaps you should join up if you could do it better?

I didn’t mean that as a criticism of Valerie’s family. Not at all. My heart goes out to them.

As I said, “after reading this…”

Oh good Lord, that is one of the worst things I've ever read.

RIP Valerie. I'm so so sorry that you were murdered in this way.

WTF was going on in that hospital, on that ward? There should be a national public scandal about this.

Fucking men. The man who raped her, the men around her - medicos - who did nothing. The men who condone other men's inhuman behaviour. Words fail me.

This should be on the main boards not just the feminist board - it is a feminist issue, but also an issue of concern about NHS culture and safeguarding
And the national news should cover it prominently.

The figures in that are terrifying.

There are security teams in hospitals. Is it time for them to have their own police officers.

Is anywhere safe, my goodness, disturbing.

A relative of mine who was a ward sister for many years recently died and she absolutely refused to go anywhere near her local hospital way beyond the point where she really needed to be admitted as she said she knew how she'd be treated in there. It was heartbreaking. She died in an ambulance on the way to hospital and I'm glad really that she ended up being spared the ward.

You don’t think the family have been fighting for answers since this happened 7 years ago?! 🙄😡

It sounds like Valerie's family didn't want to leave her alone on that ward either and it was a small time frame when they were not present that the assault happened. I can't imagine what they have and are still going through.

I think this is the most horrific thing I’ve ever read. Thoughts, love and sympathy goes out to all family involved.

I cannot even begin to imagine, understand or comprehend what a man can actually do to injure someone so severely as to cause their death in this way. Absolutely horrific.

https://www.womensrights.network/hospital-report

If anyone is writing to their mp there’s also this link for information and context on the situation around the country

Missing the point spectacularly, if not predictably. Will you write to Wes Streeting? Actually direct your outrage towards the right targets?

Between this and the same ward drugging patients without their consent to make them sleep. The ward needs closing down.

This is horrific and leaves so many unanswered questions. Why did the hospital dispose of her clothing - should that not have been returned to her family? And really, they wipe CCTV after just 18 days?

An elderly relative of mine was recently on a hospital ward and there was one HCA who was enjoying being really rough with the patients. My relative said that while he was getting dressed, this man was digging his fingers into his back and almost pushing/slapping him about. Both my relative and his son made a complaint and the staff closed ranks. Obviously it’s nothing on the horrific scale of this murder but the closing of ranks is definitely a thing.

I hope this lady’s family fight for answers. I’d support a gofundme to help them do that. It’s horrifying to know that an extremely dangerous sexual predator is walking freely around a hospital.

Absolutely horrific. That poor woman. Nowhere is safe it seems.

Heartbreaking and enraging. A vulnerable woman is raped and murdered IN HOSPITAL and the staff don’t give a fuck. And neither does anyone else, apparently.

I doubt if a loved one of mine is incapacitated and left in hospital I’d want leave them for a minute after reading this.

Horrific.

Hospitals haven’t been safe for 25+ years.

This is how things are now.

Revolting, disturbing and tragic.

But everything is now like this. We need to wake up. So many things could have prevented this. We now routinely run hospitals with fuck all staff and think it’s ok. I remember being in hospital as far back as 20 years ago and there being a dangerously low number of staff. People go to hospital to get worse and die, not get better. My older (but fine) relative died as a result of a hospital “accident” 25 years ago - she’d gone in for an ingrowing toenail procedure.

This is terrible- her family must be so angry. It sickens me that they didn’t even seem to realise she’d been attacked but sadly I can believe it. My mum is currently in hospital and I believe she was neglected on her previous ward. She is now in a terrible state and I think a lot of that is simply down to poor care.

I've had some brilliant MPs in the past (political party unrelated to effectiveness) and I think it's dreadful for those who lack that, as they can move things along in a way very few other people can when it matters. I also know professionally how much decent MPs care about their constituents and they don't get the credit for that in general, but obviously there are also the ones who don't do the job properly and lack that sense of responsibility.

https://crimestoppers-uk.org/news-media/news/2023/mar/lancashire-20-000-reward-to-help-catch-killer-of-loving-retired-mum

Family appealed for information previously, via crimestoppers.