Victims’ tsar demands action from NHS over ‘systemic failures’ to tackle sexual abuse

Exclusive: Victims’ tsar demands NHS tackles ’systemic failure’ to protect vulnerable patients after we reveal 20,000 allegations of assault and harassment on wards – and 4,000 new cases in private sector

Baroness Helen Newlove was reappointed as interim victims’ commissioner in October 2023 (PA)

The NHS must act urgently to tackle “systemic failures” that have allowed sexual abuse to thrive in mental health hospitals across the country, the victims’ tsar has warned.

Baroness Helen Newlove urged healthcare leaders to address “sustained” failures to tackle the alleged sexual abuse and harassment of patients on psychiatric wards – warning victims had been failed by a system designed to care for them.

Her comments come after a bombshell investigation by The Independent shed light on the almost 20,000 allegations of sexual assault and harassment on NHS mental health wards in the past five years.