Whorlton Hall: Four guilty of mistreating vulnerable patients

The charges initially brought against the staff came after a BBC Panorama investigation.

Four members of staff at a specialist hospital have been found guilty of mistreating vulnerable patients.

Nine former staff at Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, had faced a total of 27 charges. Five of those on trial have been cleared.

The charges initially brought against the staff came after an undercover reporter went into the a 17-bed independent unit for people with complex needs, with a hidden camera for a BBC Panorama investigation.

Teesside Crown Court heard patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act, and who required 24-hour care, were distressed as they were verbally abused, mocked and wound up by some of the staff at the hospital.

After two days of deliberation, jurors at Teesside Crown Court delivered the mixed verdicts.

The four members of staff that where found guilty at Teesside Crown Court:

  • Ryan Fuller, 26, of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle, was found guilty of two charges of ill-treatment of a patient, but cleared of eight.

  • John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington, was found guilty of one charge of ill-treatment of a person in care, and not guilty of another.

  • Peter Bennett, 52, of Redworth Road, Billingham, was convicted of two counts of ill-treatment of a patient, and cleared of one.

  • Matthew Banner, 43, of Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, was found guilty of five counts of ill-treatment of a patient, and not guilty of one.

Teesside Crown Court heard patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act, and who required 24-hour care, were distressed as they were verbally abused, mocked and wound up by some of the staff at the hospital.

One defendant said on camera he had invented an imaginary "man button" to summon male staff for a female patient who had clearly said she did not want men to look after her.

Prosecutors said Peter Bennett, 53, showed off to colleagues and used the threat of the "man button" to wind up the patient and to make her comply.

Jurors heard he said he would issue staff with balloons, as he knew the patient did not like them.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said Ryan Fuller, 27, was heard to call a different resident a "b****", and when he heard of more patients coming to the unit he spoke of "how much fun he would have with them, and said 'more abuse'."

John Sanderson, 25, said he had repeatedly unplugged a patient's phone while the resident was speaking to his sister, resulting in the patient becoming so agitated he smashed up the phone.

Miss Richardson said: "The Crown does not suggest that the defendants were ill-treating all of the residents all of the time - caring for those within Whorlton Hall was not an easy job."

She told jurors the defendants have "largely indicated that they received minimal training, that the hall was understaffed and that those they cared for were extremely challenging."

Detective Chief Superintendent David Ashton, from Durham Police said: “Durham Constabulary have worked closely with other agencies to prioritise the safety of those patients who, sadly, had suffered from the abuse which was exposed by the BBC Panorama documentary.

"We hope that the action taken provides the patients, their families and many other people involved in specialist care an element of reassurance”.

In May 2019, Durham Constabulary received reports of an impending BBC Panorama documentary regarding the abuse of patients at Whorlton Hall - a criminal investigation was launched in response.

Dan Scorer, head of policy at disability charity Mencap, said: “No-one who has seen the footage and read about the charges in this case can feel anything other than horror and disgust.

“Learning disabilities and autism are not conditions that can be ‘treated’, yet the NHS and the Government continue to fund private care facilities like Whorlton Hall.

“This distressing case represents another abject failure, and we cannot allow any more people to lose years of their lives to this abusive system.”

The four defendants who were convicted will be sentenced at the same court on 7 July.

The five defendants on trial that where cleared of all charges:

  • Sarah Banner, 33, of Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe.

  • Darren Mark Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington

  • Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland

  • Sabah Mahmood, 27, of Woodland Crescent, Kelloe

  • Karen McGhee, 54, of Wildair Close, Darlington

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