Mental health unit care workers charged after BBC Panorama probe

Two care workers have been charged with the ill-treatment of four people at a mental health unit which featured in an undercover BBC investigation.

The Panorama programme, broadcast in 2022, revealed that patients were humiliated and bullied at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich, Greater Manchester.

Support worker Sheryl Price, 45, of Eldergreen Close in Bolton, faces 14 charges, while 42-year-old nurse Sara Coleman, of Mitford Street in Stretford, is accused of five.

Both have been bailed and are due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 25 March.

A undercover Panorama reporter filmed staff at the Edenfield Centre – one of the UK’s biggest mental health hospitals – using restraint inappropriately and patients enduring long periods of seclusion in small, bare rooms.

Staff swore at patients and on occasion were seen slapping or pinching them.

Some workers were sacked after the BBC’s findings were broadcast.

The programme sparked an independent report, which found Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust repeatedly missed opportunities to act on concerns and had a culture of “suppressing bad news”.

The trust was again rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year despite some improvements having been made.

Criticisms included issues with patient safety and pressures on staff, with some still feeling unable to speak up about their concerns.

The Edenfield site has since been rebranded as the Riverside Centre.