Broken bones, black eyes and other bruisespublished at 12:43 BST
The report lays bare the nature of the injuries the relatives saw on their loved ones, many of whom were “non-verbal”. Because of this establishing how an injury had been caused was often extremely difficult, the report explains.
“Some patients will have caused injuries to themselves, to other patients and to members of staff,” it’s acknowledged.
However when abuse was seen on CCTV many relatives “understandably thought the worst and realised the possibility that at least some of the injuries seen upon the patients were a sign of deliberate abuse by staff”.
Some relatives commented that patients seemed to receive injuries such as broken bones, black eyes and other bruises at the facility that they had never suffered at home.
There was evidence about “bruises, unexplained marks and signs consistent with physical abuse”.
Families saw “bruising to arms, legs, faces and torsos, including what appeared to be grip marks, finger bruises and injuries appearing in clusters”.
“Relatives reported being informed by staff that injuries were caused by self-harm, behavioural incidents or peer-on-peer violence.”
They were told their relative was “clumsy or may have fallen in the night”.
The report says many families lost confidence in these explanations.
