Who are Active Care Group?
Active Care Group describes itself as 'The UK's pioneering provider of complex care.' Their website is a colourful array of happy faces and positive testimonials.
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On the part of their site dedicated to the CAMHS services they offer, Active Care Group proclaims it is committed to 'caring, supportive, recovery-focused treatment'. But what's the reality for the patients on the receiving end? Scroll down to find out more.
And Huntercombe?
The Huntercombe Group are a private UK healthcare provider, founded in 1998. In January 2022, Active Care Group merged with The Huntercombe Group, acquiring their 14 properties, 'c.390 service users', and potentially increasing their yearly income by c.£13m before tax. Since the merger, Active Care Group has taken steps to distance itself from Huntercombe whilst retaining its assets, initially through rebranding, and in more recent months through the erasure of Huntercombe's social media, website and the renaming of hospitals.
Image Copyright © 2023 Nicole Lacey
Huntercombe: A timeline of malpractice, neglect and abuse.
Huntercombe/ACG have been desperately failing their patients for more than 10 years and continue to harm their patients today. This timeline identifies crucial events which mark the breadth of the hurt caused between 2011 (when the Care Quality Commission instated their modern system of reviewing and rating hospitals) and this year, 2023. We want to know, with such striking evidence of systematic institutional malpractice, why do Huntercombe/ACG CAMHS units remain open?
What happened to Huntercombe's previous CAMHS units?
Since 2014, Huntercombe/ACG has managed 8 children's inpatient services. Only 2 of these remain. One opened last year. What happened to the other 6?
Watcombe Hall opened as a CAMHS unit with an attached PICU in 2015. It was closed down 2 years later.
Meadow Lodge opened in 2017 as a CAMHS inpatient unit and high-dependency area. It was closed down 2 years later.
Huntercombe Hospital Norwich opened as a low-secure inpatient CAMHS unit in 2015. It was shut down 3 years later.
Taplow Manor, formerly Huntercombe Maidenhead, opened in 1997 for people aged 12-25. It will close in 2023.
Huntercombe Hospital Edinburgh opened in 2003 as an eating disorder inpatient service. It was closed in 2019.
Cotswold Spa opened as an inpatient eating disorder service for 11-25 year olds in 2012. It was sold in 2020.
What about the ones that are still open?
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The Huntercombe Hospital Stafford opened in 2003 as a 39-bedded inpatient psychiatric hospital for young people.
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Ivetsey House opened sometime between May 2021 and February 2023 as a 4-bedded step-down service for young people.
Through The Glass Doors
What about the experiences of Huntercombe / ACG's patients?
Below, you'll find some pages from 'Through the Glass Doors', an autobiographical collaborative work co-created by 17 previous Huntercombe / Active Care Group patients and/or their families. You can access a full online version of 'Through the Glass Doors' here.
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Please note: 'Through the Glass Doors' and the images below contain references to, and descriptions of, self-harm, psychiatric abuse and neglect, and the abuse of children.
