Psychiatric unit patients awarded more than £5m

More than 90 former patients of a teen psychiatric unit have received damages totalling £5.3m.

The settlement is for people who were patients at Hill End Adolescent Unit in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and subject to alleged sexual abuse or mistreatment from the late 1960s until its closure in 1995.

A compensation scheme for people who experienced abuse at Hill End was established in July 2024, but it is due to close to new claimants in March.

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, which now provides mental health services in the county, said it was "deeply sorry to those people who had such a traumatic and unacceptable experience".

Emma Jones, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, urged "any former patients who think that they may have a claim to get in touch with our team".

In-patients as young as 10 were frequently given adult doses of sedatives as a form of control and punishment while at Hill End.

Some were rendered unconscious for hours or days at a time, leaving them vulnerable to abuse by staff.

Adolescents under the age of 16 were referred to the unit between 1969 and 1995 for reasons such as their parents not being able to manage them.

They were made to participate in group meetings and therapy sessions which included controversial massage and touch therapy.

Many of the former patients have received formal letters of apology from Karen Taylor, chief executive of the NHS trust, about what happened to them while they were at the unit.

The letters highlight lessons learned by the trust, which it says have been taken forward into current practice.

One of the claimants said that to "receive an apology finally meant that someone realised what went on was wrong, and not something that should have happened or was my fault – which is how it has always felt.

"That has definitely made it easier to process internally."

Jones said "these letters of apology mark a new chapter and provide a much-needed acknowledgement of the abuse that they faced".

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Apologies have been issued for the events at Hill End and we will do everything in our power to make sure other families do not suffer such an appalling breach of trust in the future."

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