Twenty staff members reportedly suspended at mental health unit after alleged abuse of patients

Twenty staff members are believed to have been suspended at a NHS mental health unit after allegations of abuse. Police have begun a criminal investigation which centres on a facility in the grounds of the former Prestwich Hospital in Bury.

Sources have told the M.E.N. that twenty staff members from the Edenfield Centre, a secure unit, for adults, have been suspended.

The action follows a dossier of evidence being collated after an undercover reporter from Panorama was embedded in the unit from March to June.

Staff, including, support workers, and registered nurses, were secretly filmed. The footage appeared to show patients being bullied, humiliated, swore at, and taunted.

The film also purports to show inappropriate use of restraint, according to experts and faking of paperwork intended to ensure patient safety. Footage, say Panorama, shows some staff mocking patients, who were also filmed on occasion pinching and slapping them.

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust which runs Edenfield, says it is taking the allegations "very seriously" and has taken "immediate actions to protect patient safety". They confirmed in a previous statement they had suspended a 'number of staff pending further investigations'. They would not comment on the number of people suspended when asked by the M.E.N.

The Edenfield has 11 wards for men and women, cares for people who are at serious risk of harming themselves or others, including many from the criminal justice system. Around 600 staff care for 200 patients.

The language appearing to have been used by nursing staff in footage to and about patients is foul. It includes: "She's a c**t.", and "Fat b***h." There is also footage of a staff member lying on a wall outside