Welsh NHS crisis: Top doctors banned and two nurses are suspended after Mail on Sunday expose of scandal at dementia hospital

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Elderly patients at an NHS hospital were left covered in faeces, injured themselves crawling on urine covered floors and were physically restrained with tables and chairs (File photo)

The row over the NHS in Wales took a dramatic turn last night when two senior doctors were banned after a Mail on Sunday exposé of the cruel abuse of elderly patients.

The pair have been put on ‘restricted duties’ and reported to the General Medical Council disciplinary body, which has the power to strike them off.

In addition, two more nurses have been suspended following this newspaper’s investigation into Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl, North Wales. The moves follow last week’s disclosure about the way dementia patients, some of whom later died, were left covered in faeces, injured themselves crawling on urine- covered floors, and were physically restrained with tables and chairs.

The details were in a confidential report, which also revealed how a secret tape recording showed the contempt of foul-mouthed staff, who swore about patients and tried to block complaints.

Health chiefs were accused of failing to tackle one of the most shocking scandals in recent NHS history.

Well-placed sources say this newspaper’s investigation caused ‘blind panic’ at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which runs Glan Clwyd.

The board was prompted to take emergency measures after protests by relatives of patients, including putting two senior doctors on ‘restricted duties’ and reporting them to the GMC, and suspending two more nurses accused of abusing patients.

It brings the total number of Glan Clwyd doctors and nurses suspended or moved to other duties to a staggering 14. All are on full pay. The new sanctions come ten months after the Glan Clwyd scandal was first uncovered. Health chiefs closed the Tawel Fan dementia ward, suspended five nurses and moved five more to other duties. Following an independent inquiry completed earlier this month, BCUHB called in police – but refused to reveal the report’s findings.

Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb last night added his voice to all-party calls for the report to be published. He brushed aside the claims of health chiefs that it could jeopardise the police investigation, pointing out that the staff and patients are not identified by name in the report.

‘I can’t see any good reason for withholding it,’ said Mr Crabb. ‘The families have a right to see it so they can come to terms with what’s happened to their loved ones. Given what’s been uncovered, I think it would be a healthy part of the process for them to be able to see it.’

Mr Crabb’s call to publish the report was backed by local Vale of Clwyd Labour MP Chris Ruane and Tory Welsh Assembly Member Darren Miller.

Mr Crabb said he was ‘deeply troubled and saddened’ by the abuse revealed at Glan Clwyd. The scandal reinforced claims by David Cameron that the NHS in Wales, run by the Labour-controlled Welsh Assembly, was a ‘shambles’.

‘One of the reasons we need to sort this out is because I don’t want the NHS in Wales to be held up as an example of how not to do things,’ said Mr Crabb.

The scandal centred on the Tawel Fan dementia ward of the Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl, North Wales

Health chiefs refused to say why the two senior Glan Clwyd doctors had been put on restricted duties. Such sanctions are usually used when they are considered a danger to patients.

The BCUHB said the pair have been reported to the GMC, which has the power to strike off doctors.

The suspended Tawel Fan nurses face sanctions from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which has similar powers to the GMC.

An NMC spokesman said: ‘When we receive a complaint about a nurse or midwife we investigate and we can take steps to prevent individuals from practising.

‘We take allegations of the abuse of patients extremely seriously and are in touch with BCUHB.’

Tina Donnelly, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said: ‘Any registered nurse has a duty to observe the highest professional standards to maintain their registration as a nurse. That requires them to be accountable 24 hours a day to ensure they are working in the patients’ interests.’

Most of the Glan Clwyd nurses are members of Unison. Donna Hutton, Unison regional organiser for North Wales, said: ‘We support the [police] investigation and expect our members to fully participate in it.

The Ablett unit which houses the Tawel Fan ward has been shut and is now under police investigation

‘We will deal with the outcome of the report with the employers once it is completed.’

However, one union organiser said nurses guilty of abuse can expect little sympathy, adding: ‘Unions are there to represent their members, not to defend the indefensible.’

The Mail on Sunday has been told of more distressing allegations of abuse by Glan Clwyd whistleblowers that were not covered in the independent report.

One said: ‘I saw a 93-year-old lady with severe dementia take her underwear off in full view of others and in her state of extreme confusion was indulging in a sexual act. No member of staff was anywhere near. When a visitor brought it to their attention they came in and dragged her away roughly.’

Another source said: ‘I saw a man defecating in a flower pot in the ward garden and wiping his bottom with leaves. He was all alone and someone had to get the staff to come and look after him. That kind of thing was normal on Tawel Fan.’

One individual familiar with Tawel Fan said: ‘Several of the patients did not know when they where bumping into other people. It led to fights, but the staff were usually in their glass box watching TV. Visitors would call the rapid response unit to break up the fights.’

Detective Superintendent Jo Williams, of North Wales Police, said the independent report should not be published until the police inquiry was over.

A BCUHB spokesman said: ‘We continue to take action to ensure all older people in our mental health services are safe and are properly looked after.’

Under new laws announced after the Mid-Staffordshire care scandal, doctors and nurses found guilty of ‘wilful neglect’ face a prison sentence of up to five years.