The government mjst look into the rise in sexual assaults in mental health facilities
18 Apr 2012
Diane Abbott MP, the Shadow Health Minister, has urged Andrew Lansley to act on the rising number of sexual assaults in mental health facilities, as new figures show an increase of 11%. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) receives reports of sexual incidents from mental health hospitals. They received 893 reports in 2010 and 994 in 2011, which is the latest available figure.
Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister, said:
‘These findings are extremely disturbing, and I think it partly reflects the social care crisis this government has on its hand. My fear is that this is a hidden scandal that isn’t being given any thought or attention. It is absolutely unacceptable that this data has been sitting unpublished for so long.
‘We need a systematic review to find out what the true scale of this is.
‘We put trust in the NHS to look after vulnerable people, sometimes against their own will, yet, increasingly, many of them are being put into a dangerous situation when they go into hospital.’
--ENDS--
1) The figures for the number of sexual incidents in mental health facilities: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2012-04-16b.101796.h&s=speaker%3A10001#g101796.q0
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