Two healthcare workers have been charged with mistreatment of four people at a mental health unit who appeared in a BBC undercover investigation.
The Panorama programme, broadcast in 2022, revealed that patients were humiliated and harassed at the Edenfield Center in Prestwich, Greater Manchester.
Support worker Sheryl Price, 45, of Eldergreen Close in Bolton, faces 14 charges, while nurse Sara Coleman, 42, of Mitford Street in Stretford, is charged with five.
Both have been released on bail and are due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on March 25.
An undercover Panorama reporter filmed staff at the Edenfield Centre, one of the UK’s largest mental health hospitals, using restraints inappropriately and patients enduring long periods of confinement in small, empty rooms.
Staff cursed at patients and were sometimes seen slapping or pinching them.
Some workers were fired after the BBC’s findings were broadcast.
The program generated 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 Care Quality Commission again rated the trust as “inadequate” earlier this year, despite some improvements having been made.
Criticism included issues with patient safety and pressures on staff, with some still feeling unable to voice their concerns.
The Edenfield site has since been renamed the Riverside Centre.
