15 Hospital Employees Arrested Over Shocking Allegations of Neglect and Abuse

FIFTEEN members of staff at a mental health hospital have been arrested after allegations including neglect and rape.

Privately run hospital St Andrew’s Healthcare in , provides more than 400 beds for patients with brain injuries and mental conditions such as and psychosis.

St Andrew’s Healthcare charity runs the hospital in NorthamptonCredit: STAH

Northamptonshire said 15 people had been arrested as part of investigations into incidents at the hospital that have reportedly taken place since October 2024.

Ten people remain under suspicion and have been bailed or released pending inquiries, they added.

St Andrew’s Healthcare , which runs the hospital, said it had dismissed several staff members and was delivering an urgent action plan.

It also said it was committed to “full transparency” and took a “zero-tolerance approach to any allegation of harm or poor practice”.

The registered charity provides inpatient services , , and .

Of the 15 arrests, Northamptonshire Police said eight people were arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill-treatment following allegations of assault made on a patient with a brain injury in July 2025.

One person was also arrested on suspicion of rape and all remain on bail.

Five people were arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter following the death of a man in February 2025.

Four have since been released with no further action, while one person remains on bail for alleged wilful neglect by a care worker.

One woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and ill-treatment or wilful neglect following an incident on 29 June 2025 and remains on bail.

One person was also arrested in relation to an into gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a teenage girl in October 2024.

Northampton Police said the had since decided no further action would be taken in that case, and the person arrested had been released with no further action.

The hospital came under scrutiny last after a of CCTV during an inspection by the watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) appeared to show staff assaulting patients.

The registered charity provides inpatient mental health services across four hospitals in Northampton, Birmingham, and EssexCredit: STAH

Following the inspection, the CQC and issued an enforcement notice, meaning it cannot admit new patients.

Jamie, whose name has been changed to remain and was until recently, a member of staff at St Andrew’s Healthcare, told BBC News that the hospital had “massive safeguarding issues”.

He said: “When you do restraints, you’re supposed to do them in a certain way, and some patients were getting pulled to the floor by their arms – that’s not restraint.”

He also claimed that he had been locked in a room with an “extremely violent” patient after a nurse refused to open the door.

Anne, whose name has been changed, also told the that she was horrified by the injuries her daughter sustained while she was a patient at St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton.

She said: “They were restraining her with four adults and on one occasion she was knelt on by a male member of staff.

“She was waking up every night for months and was obviously in a severe amount of pain with her ribs.”

Anne claimed she had made a series of safeguarding referrals to West Northamptonshire Council, but she had not gone to the police because of a lack of witnesses and CCTV.

A spokesperson for St Andrew’s Healthcare told the BBC it had launched internal investigations and “all staff” subject to Northamptonshire Police investigations “were immediately suspended and several staff were dismissed”.

They added: “We referred several members of staff to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”

They also acknowledged that “care hadn’t always met the standards patients deserve” and apologised to those affected.

The spokesperson added that it had introduced new training for all front-line staff, significantly reduced the use of agency staff and had now installed CCTV on most wards.