NHS “covered up” scandal at flagship centre for rape victims

Morning in Whitechapel by Richard Fisher at Flickr

The NHS was last night accused of supressing findings of catastrophic failings at a pioneering centre for rape victims.

A confidential report, obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found fundamental forensic protocols were routinely breached at the centre in London, which was set up to provide a “gold standard” in specialist support for rape victims and improve conviction rates.

Dozens of samples taken from victims of sexual attacks that should have been sent for forensic analysis were discovered left in a fridge while there were “multiple deficiencies” in the unit’s dealings with children and vulnerable adults.

Staff at the unit described working in “an oppressive, tense environment” and told investigators that they dreaded their shifts but were afraid to complain to managers.

Disturbingly, the report concludes that many of the problems “echoed the underlying failures identified” as part of the inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal.

But until now, the report, commissioned by Barts Health NHS Trust into the “whole system failure” at the Whitechapel Haven, has never been made public – despite the unit’s temporary closure as a result of the problems that first came to light last year.

Related story: Forensic examinations of rape victims plummet in London

Last night Barts, which ran the Whitechapel centre, apologised for the “inexcusable failings” that had come to light but insisted it had not attempted to hide the problems identified in the report.

But Liz Kendall, Labour’s Shadow Care Minister, said: “The women who have been affected have a right to know who is responsible for the unacceptable failings at Whitechapel Haven and that they are properly held to account.

Complete transparency is also essential to ensure similar services for rape victims learn the lessons from what happened to make sure these appalling mistakes never happen again.”

Baroness Jones, London Assembly member for the Green Party and former Mayoral candidate, said she was “fobbed off” by the NHS and Metropolitan Police after asking questions about the closure of Whitechapel.

“The response I received when I raised this issue did not make clear in any way the scale of the problem, nor the consequences for the rape survivors,” she said.

The failure to publish the report promptly gave the impression that “what had happened at Whitechapel was covered up”, she said.

“When it comes to rape, women are being failed again and again by the services that should be there to support them.”

Widespread inadequacies

Whitechapel is one of three specialist rape centres in the capital, known as the Havens. It was established in 2004 to be a “one stop shop” where women can be seen by specialist doctors, receive treatment for injuries and emergency contraception if necessary while also being referred for counselling and other support.

The centre is jointly funded by the NHS and the Metropolitan Police Service – who refer women to the centre for specialist support and rely upon it to collect forensic samples for use in potential prosecutions.

The NHS investigation, which was completed in April 2013, was launched following concerns about standards and practices at the unit.

It has never been published but a copy was given to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism following a Freedom of Information request.

The investigation reveals widespread inadequacies in collection and storage of forensic evidence collected from rape victims.

It found:

*Samples from 93 alleged rape victims had not been passed on to the police forensic service for analysis.

*The unit had a grubby examination suite that “did not meet the standards required in terms of a safe forensic area”.

*Criminal exhibits were stored in plastic bags – which can lead to deterioration of evidence – and contaminated clothing was mixed with clean items.

The report reveals that when two members of the investigation panel visited the Whitechapel centre to assess how the service was being run they found “a general air of grubbiness” with equipment overflowing from cupboards.

During an interview with two members of staff they were told: “you should have seen the suite before”.

Investigators also uncovered “multiple deficiencies” in the implementation of procedures for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Related story: Revealed: Why the police are failing most rape victims

Concerns raised by the Department of Health, had not been acted on and were “treated in a dismissive manner”.

Inside the unit no-one was accountable for quality of patient care, with the lead clinician “either unable to take leadership or not suitably qualified or experienced to assume this role”.

“(A) picture of good clinical governance did not appear to exist in the Whitechapel Haven service,” they concluded.

“Nor did the investigation identify systems in place for dealing with poor performance.

“The service failed to identify and prioritise risks and as a result there was no mitigation in place to minimise both the likelihood and impact against failure of the service.

The report concluded that many of the problems identified at Whitechapel were the same as those identified by Robert Francis in his inquiry into what went wrong at Mid Staffordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Staff dismissed

The centre, which was run until recently by Barts and the London NHS Trust, closed for four months in 2012 after initial discovery of the failings.

Since then it has reopened but with a reduced service. The centre still does not offer a 24/7 service, as it did before the crisis, and it no longer provides a children’s service. Responsibility for its management moved to King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April this year.

An NHS England spokesman said that following the investigation, two members of staff had been dismissed.

Victims directly affected by the problems identified at Whitechapel have been contacted, he added.

“Immediate steps were taken to contact each [affected] client. They received a full apology and were invited to make an appointment with a trained counsellor to receive the results and continued support,” he said.

In a statement Barts Health NHS Trust said: “We are extremely sorry for the inexcusable failings at the Whitechapel Haven.”

The Trust had taken swift and immediate action as soon as the issue came to light in 2011 to ensure that all the affected samples were re-tested, the statement added.

“The former Trust – Barts and The London – also carried out a rigorous and urgent audit of all records held at The Haven in Whitechapel since its opening in 2004.  As well as our own serious incident inquiry, we commissioned a separate, independent investigation in order to understand fully what led to this failure in care so that there could be no repetition.”

The statement said that the findings of these investigations had been shared with doctors at King’s College Hospital, which now runs the Havens service, and the report would be discussed at an NHS England meeting in 2014.

“The Trust has strived for transparency throughout and the independent investigation report commented on the diligence, honesty and openness of our staff in working together to discover and correct what had gone wrong.”

A statement from King’s College Hospital said that since taking over management of the Havens in April 2013, it had made improvements across the entire service. “This includes establishing new systems of governance to improve the auditing and management of samples.

“The Havens are a safe place for anyone who has been raped or sexually assaulted to get the help they need. The service is available to anyone who needs it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”