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Four carers who were convicted of abusing patients at a secure hospital have been given suspended sentences.

An undercover BBC Panorama investigation showed patients being mocked by staff at Whorlton Hall in County Durham between 2018 and 2019.

The four former staff, who are all men, were sentenced on Friday after being convicted by a jury last year.

Judge Chris Smith said Whorlton Hall was an “unpredictable and inherently frightening place to live”.

The specialist hospital for people with complex needs was privately run by Cygnet, but funded by the NHS.

It has since closed.

Undercover reporter Olivia Davies spent 38 days posing as a carer at the 17-bedroom secure unit.

In the footage showed to jurors, prosecutors said the defendants mocked, taunted and threatened patients, who needed 24-hour care.

Peter 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.

John Sanderson was found guilty of threatening a male patient with violence and “goading him to fight”.

Ryan Fuller was guilty of instructing another male patient to lie on the floor to demonstrate a restraint, and then simulating an assault by pretending to perform an “elbow drop” wrestling move from a chair.

Fuller was also found guilty of “antagonising” another male patient and “encouraging” him to fight.

Judge Chris Smith sentenced the four carers at Teesside Crown Court on Friday.

All must also do unpaid work.

Nine carers at Whorlton Hall stood trial, five of whom were cleared of all charges by the jury.

Judge Smith said Whorlton Hall had a “malign culture” and was an “unpredictable and inherently frightening place to live.”

He added: “Each of you failed those patients and their families. It was a fundamental breach of trust.”

Following the case, the father of a patient with severe autism who was ill-treated by a carer told the BBC of the impact of seeing the way his daughter was let down.

He said: “The more I saw it, the more angry I got. To see somebody treating your daughter like that is bad.

“We ended up not sleeping at night because of the anger and we ended up in therapy. We just couldn’t get our heads around it.”

The sister of one patient, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said: “I can’t stop thinking about what they did to him. I don’t understand how anyone could be so nasty and cruel.”

Durham Police arrested several carers within 36 hours of the programme being aired.

Det Ch Supt David Ashton said the case “raised concerns, particularly for those who have vulnerable relatives or friends who require specialist care”.

“We hope that the successful prosecution of the defendants in this case gives confidence to anyone who may be concerned about abuse in a care environment to speak out and report such matters,” Det Ch Supt Ashton added.

Outside court, Stephanie Donington from the Crown Prosecution Service North East, said the provision of round-the-clock care for patients with complex needs carries “an enormous duty of care”.

She said many Whorlton Hall patients were “wholly dependent on professional support”, and added: “For each of those sentenced today, it was clear from the evidence in this case that there were occasions where the care they provided was not only devoid of the appropriate respect and kindness required, but also crossed the line into criminal offending.”

Learning disability charity Mencap and the National Autistic Society (NAS) said changes must be made to ensure autistic people and those with learning disabilities are kept safe.

Dan Scorer, head of policy and public affairs at Mencap, said: “Today’s sentencing shows that people who abuse and neglect health and care settings will be held to account and have to face up to the pain and suffering they have caused. It must never be tolerated.”

Tim Nicholls, head of influencing and research at NAS, added: “The abuse of autistic people and people with learning disabilities in this case is absolutely horrific.”

Both charities called for improvements to social care nationally, with a spokesman for NAS saying the Whorlton case is “just one example” of how autistic people and those with learning disabilities are being let down by “inadequate social care services and out of date mental health law”.

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