Released 11 July 2024
Request:
In 2022 I published a research paper on sexual assaults of people aged 60 and over that took place in an NHS England hospital setting where the alleged perpetrator was a member of hospital staff (either directly employed or agency staff). This research included data from a five year period from 2016/17 to 2020/21 and identified at least 76 incidents that were reported via NHS data collection systems.
I am now revisiting this research, in partnership with UK Charity Hourglass (Safer Ageing) and requesting data for the three financial years 2021/22 to 2023/24.
In revisiting the research I aim to discover not only if there have been any statistical changes but also if introduction of Sexual Safety Policies by NHS England have had any impact on the numbers or response to victims.
FOI Questions: (also attached on a Word document if this is easier for you to complete and return)
1. How many sexual safety incidents has the trust recorded where the alleged victim was a patient aged 60 or over and the alleged perpetrator was a staff member (including agency staff)?
Please provide figures for:
April 2021 to the end of March 2024 (total)
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2. Do you have a Sexual Safety policy in place that covers assaults on patients by staff?
3. Does the policy also explicitly address the sexual abuse of older people?
4. Have staff received training on dealing with sexual abuse against people with dementia?
5. What training have staff received on dealing with sexual abuse against people with dementia?
6. Is this training mandatory for staff dealing with patients with dementia?
7. If your hospital has incidents recorded, please provide more information:
Sex of victims
No. Male
No. Female
No. Other
8. Sex of alleged perpetrator
No. Male
No. Female
No. Other
9. Role(s) of alleged perpetrators
HCA
Nursing Staff
Surgeon
Anaesthetist
Other
10. Locations of alleged incidents (pls specify number for each incident)
Same Sex Ward
Single Sex Ward
Theatre
Public Area
Other
11. Was incident reported to the police (please specify number for each incident)
Yes
No
Unknown
12. If not reported, please give reasons for this:
Please indicate if outcome of any police investigations if known:
13. Was a referral made to the local Sexual Assault Referral Centre?
(please specify number for each incident) Yes No Unknown
14 Was the victim signposted to sexual violence support services (please specify number for each incident) Yes No Unknown
Information disclosed:
Questions 1, 7-14. A total of 6 alleged incidents were reported across the Trust’s sites during the period April 2021 to the end of March 2024.
Due to the small number of patients and staff involved we are unable to provide any further details relevant to these incidents on the basis that staff and/or patients could be identified. We can, however, add that of the incidents reported to the police all were closed with no further action, and none of the alleged incidents warranted disciplinary action to be taken against the staff involved.
This data has been anonymised in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Anonymisation: Managing Data Protection Risk Code of Practice. The disclosure of more specific details relevant to these incidents could lead to the identification of those individuals involved.
The Trust considers disclosure of more specific information relevant to these incidents to be exempt under section 40(2) [personal information] exemption.
2-3. Yes, any allegations of sexual assault towards patients perpetrated by a staff member are managed in line with the Trust’s Safeguarding Adults Policy and Managing Allegations Against Staff Policy. Currently these policies do not explicitly address the sexual abuse of older people, however, the capacity of the patient does inform how a complaint is managed.
4-6. Safeguarding training is mandatory for all staff and there are different levels of training required dependent on the staff role in the Trust. Sexual abuse is included as part of this, but training does not focus specifically on people with dementia. Staff are expected to involve the safeguarding team and police where appropriate regarding any incident of this nature.