Stroke patient, 75, died as she lay helpless in hospital bed *content warning - sexual assault MNHQ*

[FightingtheFoo]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9563237/Stroke-patient-75-died-sexually-assaulted-lay-helpless-hospital-bed.html

"A stroke patient 'died after being sexually assaulted' as she lay ill in a hospital bed, an inquest heard.
Valerie Kneale had been admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital following a stroke and had later broken her leg when falling from a chair.
The 75-year-old's condition deteriorated and she died four days later.

A male hospital worker was arrested on suspicion of murder, rape and sexual assault and has since been bailed pending further inquiries.
Opening the inquest, coroner for Blackpool and Fylde Alan Wilson said: 'Concerns had been raised about a potential injury around the genital area.
'This prompted a police investigation by Lancashire Constabulary.'

The autopsy revealed that although Mrs Kneale did have a significant stroke, the pathologist did not think it was the cause of death.
Mr Wilson said: 'She said that was due to an internal and external haemorrhage which was in turn due to a vaginal laceration or tear.'

The pathologists' report believed it was caused by a sexual assault after she was admitted to hospital.
Mrs Kneale died on November 16, 2018."

I am just full of rage. She was at her most vulnerable and was failed, yet again, by the system. We should be marching.

@Thelnebriati

This question might not seem relevant now, but will this case be counted by the ONS or do they still impose an arbitrary upper age limit on rape statistics?

Wtf? Please tell me this isn't actually a thing!

I'm afraid it is. The upper age limit used to be, I think, 59; now it is 74.

''The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides the best measure of victimisation and estimated that for the year ending March 2020 there were 773,000 adults aged 16 to 74 years who were victims of sexual assault (including attempts) in the last year, with almost four times as many female victims (618,000) as male victims (155,000).''
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/sexualoffencesinenglandandwalesoverview/march2020

[quote Thelnebriati]I'm afraid it is. The upper age limit used to be, I think, 59; now it is 74.

''The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides the best measure of victimisation and estimated that for the year ending March 2020 there were 773,000 adults aged 16 to 74 years who were victims of sexual assault (including attempts) in the last year, with almost four times as many female victims (618,000) as male victims (155,000).''
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/sexualoffencesinenglandandwalesoverview/march2020[/quote]
Omg I never knew this. I think today may be the day my head finally explodes.

Fucking hell. They just stop seeing women don't they?

- Single sex wards
- chaperones for all male staff dealing with female patients
- only female staff to administer personal care to female patients

Pretty straightforward.

I think you are misunderstanding me. Those things won't prevent a male member of staff sneaking in to a room. The wards are not policed or monitored particularly. Most no longer have a ward clerk on the front desk, most no longer have front desks. It is very easy as a hospital employee to walk on to a ward and in to a patients room without another ward staff member seeing you. It's much harder if the wards all have 4 or 6 bed bays in because there's staff in the bays all most all of the time, as well as other patients. This isn't the case on wards where most beds are in single occupancy rooms. Lots of non-ward staff come and go on wards frequently - porters, cleaners, pharmacists, handymen etc and currently this is not monitored. It's a whole system failure, one which cannot be resolved with single sex wards and one which will get worse with the increase in single occupancy rooms.

@PermanentTemporary

I hope the sister of the ward has resigned. What total failure.

I agree. Disgusting.

It always amazes me that women of childbearing age are considered a liability for employers, when you look at what men get up to in the workplace. Yes, this is an extreme case and NAMALT, but there are a hell of a lot of them who enact behaviour than encompasses a whole spectrum of violence and harassment.

I had no idea about the age limit on rape. That's unbelievable

@Allthereindeersaregirls

- Single sex wards - chaperones for all male staff dealing with female patients - only female staff to administer personal care to female patients

Pretty straightforward.

I think you are misunderstanding me. Those things won't prevent a male member of staff sneaking in to a room. The wards are not policed or monitored particularly. Most no longer have a ward clerk on the front desk, most no longer have front desks. It is very easy as a hospital employee to walk on to a ward and in to a patients room without another ward staff member seeing you. It's much harder if the wards all have 4 or 6 bed bays in because there's staff in the bays all most all of the time, as well as other patients. This isn't the case on wards where most beds are in single occupancy rooms. Lots of non-ward staff come and go on wards frequently - porters, cleaners, pharmacists, handymen etc and currently this is not monitored. It's a whole system failure, one which cannot be resolved with single sex wards and one which will get worse with the increase in single occupancy rooms.

Funnily enough the hospital I was in in a.n.other country had single rooms with en suite toilet and shower, off a main corridor and yet that hospital managed not to have any employees or even random members of the public walking into patient rooms unobserved. This was a publicly funded hospital in a country with a patriarchal culture that isn't rich enough to make the G7.

You are just making excuses, it can be done and damn well should be done.

You are just making excuses, it can be done and damn well should be done.

I'm not making excuses. I said "it's a whole system failure" and I was specifically responding to the OPs suggestions of how to make hospitals safer for women, which wouldn't prevent the situation that occurred here. There are however ways it could be prevented, such as reinstating the ward clerk desk at the front of the ward (instead 2/3rds down like on my ward) and having a check in/out system. CCTV cameras at the entrance to each single occupancy room. Internal windows on to he main ward and no blinds unless during personal cae. for example.

I guess it depends ... if moving to single sex wards full stop was the only thing that changed then actually yes, it will still make some difference. As a patient or visitor for example I know I can challenge a man if they are in a space they shouldn't be in.

If moving to single sex wards full stop was one item on a bigger list of changes (systems, societal etc) then it would also make a difference, a bigger one.

What is guaranteed though is changing nothing will have no change.

That poor woman and her family.

This could be any of our mums, aunties, sisters, daughters one day. It could be us.

There IS a front desk that is always staffed on the stroke unit at BVH. Most patients are in bays of six as my relative who was hospitalised around the same time was and my mother has been. All I can imagine is that Valerie Kneale was either in a side room or assaulted at another place (ie on way to x-ray/mri).

@Allthereindeersaregirls

You are just making excuses, it can be done and damn well should be done.

I'm not making excuses. I said "it's a whole system failure" and I was specifically responding to the OPs suggestions of how to make hospitals safer for women, which wouldn't prevent the situation that occurred here. There are however ways it could be prevented, such as reinstating the ward clerk desk at the front of the ward (instead 2/3rds down like on my ward) and having a check in/out system. CCTV cameras at the entrance to each single occupancy room. Internal windows on to he main ward and no blinds unless during personal cae. for example.

Single sex wards and I mean single SEX not gender and all male staff to be chaperoned on that ward would be a good start point, don't you think?

The most recent UK hospital I was in (as a visitor) the ward doors were locked, staff accessed them by swipe card and visitors had to be buzzed in and then sign as to who they were visiting, would be pretty easy to identify who should be there and chaperoned or not I would have thought. The ward desk there was right at the front, you couldn't get into the ward without passing it and it was always manned.

Forgot to say, there was also a sign in and sign out are and whenever we visited staff were extremely strict about this. To the point of rudeness actually when our relative was on end of life care (screamed at for not signing out and back in again when visiting the toilet). It was always fairly busy with staff and the actual wards were quite “open” once you got past the front desk. That’s why I’d be extremely surprised if it happened in one of the bays. The side rooms are also pretty close to the front desks. Admissions can come in at any time day or night. He’s obviously either been very confident he wouldn’t be caught or he’s been very blasè and not bothered about being caught.

Sandgrown1970 and RedDogsBeg I don't work at that particular hospital but I can see how such an event could occur at the hospital I work at. Staff have a fob to unlock ward doors, but the fob entry is not monitored or recorded, it isn't tagged to me - they are predominantly to stop patients wandering off/ patients going in to the wrong ward. We don't have manned desks on every ward and how many staff are on the ward corridor varies depending on time of day etc but I've been on plenty of wards where I have not seen another staff member or patient between entering the ward and going in to the ward office or patients room. It's a real concern, and one I have raised before. For visitors it's slightly different as they have to be buzzed in but other than usually being shouted at to wash their hands, little notice is taken of them. I actually hope that this incident stirs some action in the higher ups. Lots of it is about cost saving - we now have one housekeeper to 2 wards, ward clerks move about and the desk is not continually manned. Most nursing staff complete paperwork in the office (not in view of most of the ward) or on the trolley computer within the patients room and there isn't the natural observation that would occur on older style wards - I think that incidents like the one in the OP will become more common if action isn't taken to replace this.

But yes, there is also the risk of assaults occurring within in transport areas, lifts etc is definitely present and could be managed in different ways to on ward issues. And yes, such predators are often blasé about the risks they take.

I didn't realise the thread title has been changed to remove the rapist. WTAF. The new thread title is not appropriate. The victim did not 'just die'.

That sounds abysmal All. However as Sandgrown1970 said not the case in the hospital this happened which would indicate that the criteria the OP put forward would work in that instance.

You are correct that what is going on in your hospital is akin to a predators paradise, is dangerous and action needs to be taken urgently.

There have been far too many fuck ups by the NHS already.

@MNHQ why have you erased the truth of what happened from this title? That’s not ok.

Haven’t read every post but...

Valerie Kneale died in November 2018

A murder investigation into her death was launched following her post mortem revealing the cause of death as being the external and internal genital wounds in February 2019

It’s May 2021. The alleged perpetrator, accused of the rape of another woman and the sexual attack of a staff member as well as this rape and murder - is on bail and has still not been charged.

He’s had 2.5 years to continue raping, attacking and murdering. Just not at Blackpool Hospital.

How is this allowed in our justice system?

Are dangerous people with multiple allegations just allowed to roam free?

He’s had 2.5 years to continue raping, attacking and murdering. Just not at Blackpool Hospital

What the actual fuck?

@Erikrie

He’s had 2.5 years to continue raping, attacking and murdering. Just not at Blackpool Hospital

What the actual fuck?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he HAS but he’s been out there all this time. Why can’t we lock up people like this as soon as what they’ve done comes to light? Someone who is linked to a murder and three sexually motivated crimes in their own workplace surely isn’t safe to be out public.

Suspending him from work and arresting him and releasing him have been the only consequences so far.

Meanwhile the victim has been named, the entire country can read the horrific nature of her death and rape and...he’s not been named. Her family are having to deal with reading their loved ones name and the way she died, the lack of dignity and everything that goes with it and yet his name is being kept private.

MN won’t even let the fact the victim was raped and murdered be part of the title of this thread.

Why is HE still being protected? When his victims and the public haven’t been?

I'm just catching up, but if anyone wants to complain to MNHQ about changing the thread title then you'll need to report a relevant post or email them. Apparently tagging them with @MNHQ doesn't particularly do the job.

@AgnesNaismith

I’ve had enough of men and male violence. That poor woman.

This is the fucking pandemic!

Quite.

If we had thrown the resources at ending MVTWAG that we have thrown at CV this sort of thing wouldn't be happening.

THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN WOMEN-ONLY SAFE SPACES. Male fucking Violence.

He’s had 2.5 years to continue raping, attacking and murdering. Just not at Blackpool Hospital
why is he being protected and by whom?

That poor, poor woman. What a horrendous, painful and terrifying experience.

And we know that in all likelihood there will be other victims. Probably many.

We also know that nurses who are male make up around 10% of the workforce. While I am supportive of efforts to recruit more men and for caring to be seen as a worthwhile career for men, those statistics would suggest that it can't be that difficult to ensure that female personal care is only carried out by women.

I also want to say something about male together culture. NAMALT for sure, but IME it can lead to aggression when not kept in check. Many years ago I was asked to investigate complaints of rough treatment by two male HCAs against a vulnerable older man who had reported his concerns to his family but was too distressed to be interviewed. This too had happened on a night shift. Inevitably, the two guys backed each other, his family didn't want police involvement, there was no evidence of actual injuries and other staff on shift all claimed to have seen nothing. I found the patient's family's statement credible, but there was little I could do other than recommend that the duo did not work together unsupervised.

The relevance to the situation with Mrs Kneale is that there is a question of whether others were involved. Either by neglect - sleeping on duty still happens on Night Duty in some sectors - leaving this guy alone to assault women, or by a deliberate conspiracy to cover up, or perhaps take turns. Whatever the reason the culture that enabled this assault has to stop. Everywhere in healthcare.