Bullying and harassment rife in Manchester unit, report says

Management and clinical staff at a facility in Manchester for elderly people with mental health problems have been accused of neglect by allowing the long term physical and emotional abuse of their most vulnerable patients.Patients on Rowan ward, a mental health unit for old people run by Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, endured "old fashioned" and "regimented nursing care," says a report from the Commission for Health Improvement.Abuse at the unit, which closed in December 2002, took several forms and included hitting, stamping on feet, intimidating language, withholding food, and playing on patients' known anxieties, says the report.The commission was called in to investigate claims of abuse at the same time that the trust decided to close the ward because it could no longer guarantee the safety of the patients there.