meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
This Is Why

Special investigation: The teenagers "failed" by mental health care

This Is Why

Sky News

News, Daily News, News Commentary

4.0552 Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2022

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

More than 20 former patients or their relatives have told Sky News they were failed by the "awful" care they received at mental health hospitals for teenagers.

The teenagers were treated for serious mental health issues by one provider - The Huntercombe Group – which was paid for by the NHS.

The Department of Health says the allegations are "deeply concerning".

On the Sky News Daily, Rob Powell speaks to our communities correspondent Lisa Holland and producer Rachel Lucas about their eight-month investigation which contains stories of excessive restraint – and people being left at increased risk of self-harm.

WARNING: This podcast features discussion about self-harm and suicide. If you need to speak to someone, call the Samaritans helpline for free on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

Annie Joyce – senior podcast producer
David Chipakupaku - digital promotion producer
Paul Stanworth – editor

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Add water to your will.

0:02.0

And know that from that single drop,

0:05.0

life will grow.

0:08.0

Communities will flourish.

0:10.0

A better world will be left.

0:13.0

By leaving a gift in your will to Water Aid,

0:16.0

you'll help bring essential clean water to people who need it,

0:20.0

to change their own lives for generations

0:22.4

to come. Add water aid to your will. Search WaterAid legacy to find out how. You know, when Helen

0:31.0

used to get home from work, I'd ask, how are you? Fine, she'd say. She clearly wasn't. After 10 years in IT, she was on autopilot. Then she found

0:42.3

this job, training up-and-coming tech wizas at the college, same skills but with new people, new challenges.

0:49.8

Now when she gets back, I get the full debrief. Can't get a word in.

0:55.0

Give your skills new life. Train others. Search jobs in further education.

1:00.7

Just to warn, this podcast features discussion about self-harm and suicide. If you feel you need to talk to someone, you can get in touch with the Samaritans. Their contact details are in the description of

1:11.1

this podcast. There was screaming, there was alarms going off, there was blood on the walls.

1:20.2

I can see the walls, I can smell it, I can hear it, I can feel people on me.

1:25.3

These are former patients speaking about the care they got in teenage mental health units

1:29.6

that were run by one provider, a place where they should have felt safe, cared for and

1:34.4

protected.

1:35.5

I saw a child kneeling herself in the face.

1:40.3

It's like what you read about asylums and workhouses, the clear trauma and pain and suffering,

1:47.0

and they were children.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sky News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sky News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.