Another NHS Trust perverts the course of justice in relation to a rape case.

[MrsOvertonsWindow]

The Times report that staff at yet another NHS Trust have deliberately obstructed a police investigation into the rape of a mentally unwell young woman thinking she was a man and placed on a male mental health ward,

There are so many shocking aspects of this case, especially that the wrong man standing trial. What what stands out is that this was the result of the open refusal of staff to co operate with the police - including accidentally forwarding an internal email to the police stating "don't give them any more".

"South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said its decision to allow the victim onto the ward was in line with NHS England policy at the time. The trust apologised to police and the court over its failure to share information"

I note there's no mention of any member of staff being sanctioned for their behaviour. I suppose for Trusts who are used to ignoring / breaching the law of the land, perverting the course of justice is a minor matter.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/nhs-thwarted-inquiry-rape-trans-patient-male-ward-ph266nnrk

archive link:

archive.ph/rh9kF

Thank you - and I'm so sorry.
We see this time after time - predators repeatedly enabled and covered up by those in authority, the only result of their exposure being the meaningless "lessons learnt" mantra.

What is it? Fear? Laziness? Stupidity? Lack of care? Or deliberate.

NHS has always been a very hierarchical system…I called out poor practise on various occasions , even when I was very junior ( luckily my roles meant I had more freedom to do so ) but faced irate consultants likewise on a number of occasions who tried to brow beat me into ignoring my professional values and obligations ( luckily I’m too arsey to be easily intimidated) . Even good, compassionate staff often get worn down and sucked into institutional neglect , or they leave and find somewhere better ( which I did - there are always better places to work and better colleagues) . It takes a lot to stand up for what is right ,and it comes often at personal and professional cost, even nowadays when every trust should have an effective whistle blowing policy . ( again , the Jimmy Saville case showed just how many staff had the option to intervene,speak up and stop his widespread horrific abuse in the NHS and other settings, but didn’t. It shows how often people can know something is wrong but not be able to act on that instinct)

Thank you @Dotheyneverlearn . I was really wondering why the ones at the very top do nothing. I suppose there must always be something for them to lose.

It seems very random that they've quoted Kellie (Frank) Maloney - isn't he a domestic abuser himself?

Professor Jo Phoenix, Rosie Duffield - and former boxing promoter Frank Maloney.

What's that all about?

Trolling?

She was originally on a women's ward and was then moved. I assume at her own request 😥

it took those men an hour to trap her in a cupboard and get started

I get the impression she was followed into a side room where she'd gone to get away from the bullying that had started as she arrived at the ward. Unfortunately she was followed and it was secluded enough for her to be raped.

It begs the question, where were the staff?

This is what I don't understand. Nottingham NHS has just sacked 11 members of staff for accessing the medical records of Valdo Calocane's victims.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrpdkevvnko

Now, I don't deny that inappropriately accessing medical records is wrong, and perhaps sacking the staff concerned was the right thing to do. What I can't for the life of me understand is that accessing medical records is worse than facilitating the rape of a mentally ill young woman or deliberately withholding information from the police in a criminal investigation.

I don't really get why these NHS staff wanted to access their medical records anyway. The story says there have been other, similar incidents. Is it no more than tasteless morbid curiousity, or is something else going on here?

Obviously it's not worse than facilitating rape.

How was that poor young woman left alone on a ward of disturbed men, including convicted sex offender(s)?!

I was about to post that.
I'm not hopeful that the trust will take any action against the staff who obstructed the police . They'll think it was justified so warped are their values.

Because she said she was a man. And the NHS believed her. That’s where genderism gets you.

The NHS knew she wasn't a man, everyone knew she wasn't but they had to pretend she was because of a ridiculous ideology and a code of practice that no-one from the people lobbying for it, the authors and the people implementing it really believed. Though they may have been able to bury the tiny voice of reality below mindless repetitions of four legs good, two legs better TWAW, TMAM, NBPAV.

What the NHS has been allowed to inflict on young people is appalling. The enormity of it ... Yet to date there have been no consequences for anyone despite the escalating evidence of harm.

"First do no harm". Such fucking empty words

Worse than that, they did not believe her, they knew damn well she was female, they knew damn well it was dangerous to place her in that ward with men, they didn't care.

If they had truly believed tthe mantra they would not have tried to cover it up and pervert the course of justice.

Fully agree, but how stupid (as well as malign). HCPs could hardly be surprised at this happening. It was dangerous, they knew that, but they did it anyway. And this poor woman has to bear the consequences. And so should they.

I imagine the staff at the time listened to her requests and arguments, weighed up the possibility of a Tra complaint against them to the NMC and accusations of transphobia and losing their job, and thought ‘on your head be it’ and gave her what she was requesting.

I know it’s an issue for a lot of gender questioning people getting sectioned, it’s important they go on the ward they identify with. I would be interested to know how many people are cared for on opposite sex mental health units.

The CQC report for SLAM from the 2026 inspection "Requires Improvement" including their mental health facilities

https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RV5

We decided to inspect this service as we wanted to follow up on the requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection in November 2023. There had been a total of 2 self-harm-related deaths in the acute and PICU wards in the 2 years prior to the inspection and we wanted to ensure that learning from these deaths had been implemented to improve care and treatment and maintain patient safety. Areas we followed up included therapeutic observations, carrying out emergency resuscitation, the use of restrictive practices (restraint, seclusion, rapid tranquillisation), and environmental safety, especially ligature points and visibility on the wards.
The trust has 18 acute mental health wards and four psychiatric intensive care units located on four sites – the Bethlem Royal Hospital, Lewisham Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital. All the wards are single sex. We inspected 14 wards across each of these locations.

The full report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RV5/reports/AP12528/acute-wards-for-adults-of-working-age-and-psychiatric-intensive-care-units