World | UK
Male nurse abuses bulimia patients
He took advantage of his position in eating disorder clinic as NHS officials failed to act.
- By Sophie Goodchild
- Published: 00:05 July 21, 2008
London: A senior male nurse was able to abuse patients with eating disorders in a "shocking and unforgivable" way because of systemic failures by managers of the National Health Service.
David Britten worked at the Peter Dally clinic in Pimlico and was described in a damning report as a "manipulative predator".
He is known to have sexually abused at least 23 vulnerable women, some as young as 16, suffering from anorexia and bulimia over 20 years but there may be 100 more victims.
An independent investigation has found the abuse could have been stopped earlier but senior managers failed to identify the fact he was grooming patients behind the doors of his treatment room.
The report said Britten, now 57, repeatedly violated professional boundaries but went unchecked because monitoring systems were inadequate and staff repeatedly missed obvious signs.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council was singled out for criticism because it took two years to suspend Britten. An investigation by his employer, the Riverside Mental Health Trust, was also described as "seriously flawed".
- Evening Standard
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