Whorlton Hall in County Durham has closed since the 2019 Panorama documentary
Four carers have been found guilty of ill-treating patients at a secure hospital, following a BBC Panorama investigation.
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.
Prosecutors said the defendants showed “contempt” for and mocked patients.
Lawyers for the defendants had argued they had been doing their best in very challenging circumstances.
Those found guilty, who are all men, will be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court in July.
Image source, CPS/BBC
Matthew Banner threatened a patient who preferred female carers that men would be called to her room
The specialist hospital for people with complex needs, who required 24-hour-care, was privately run but funded by the NHS.
The BBC sent undercover reporter Olivia Davies to work at the unit for a Panorama documentary in 2019. Whorlton Hall has since closed.
Jurors delivered the mixed verdicts after two days of deliberation.
Image source, CPS/BBC
Peter Bennett, 53, mocked one patient with communication difficulties by speaking to them in French
Peter Bennett, 53, of Redworth Close in Billingham was found guilty of two charges and cleared of one.
Matthew Banner, 43, of Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, was found guilty on five counts and cleared of one.
Ryan Fuller, 27, of Deerbolt Bank in Barnard Castle was found guilty of two counts but cleared of eight.
John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue in Willington was found guilty of one but cleared of another.
Image source, CPS/BBC
John Sanderson, 25, was filmed by Panorama making threats of violence to a man
Karen McGhee, Darren Lawton, Sabah Mahmood, Niall Mellor and Sara Banner were cleared of all charges against them.
Some of the defendants wept loudly as the verdicts were read out.
Bennett was convicted for “deliberately referencing and snapping balloons” in the presence of a female patient who did not like them and “mocking” another’s communication difficulties by talking to her in French.
Matthew Banner was guilty of ill-treating the same patient, who preferred female carers, by “threatening” that men would be sent to her room and making repeated references to balloons.
Sanderson was found guilty of threatening a male patient with violence and “goading him to fight”.
Ryan Fuller had faced 10 charges of mistreating patients and was convicted of two
Fuller was guilty of instructing another male patient to lie on the floor to demonstrate a restraint and then simulating an assault on him by pretending to perform an “elbow drop” wrestling move from a chair.
He was also found guilty of “antagonising” another male patient and “encouraging” him to fight.
Speaking after the verdicts, Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service said the four men had a “duty of care for patients who, due to significant mental health issues, were wholly dependent on their support every day of their lives”.
He said it was “clear” there were times when the care the men provided was “not only devoid of the appropriate respect and kindness required but also crossed the line into criminal offending”.
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