Labour MP reveals daughter’s ‘horrendous’ experience at scandal-hit Huntercombe hospital

A Labour MP has revealed his autistic daughter’s “horrendous” experience at the hands of staff at a children’s mental health hospital where a teenage girl was unlawfully killed months earlier.

Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight, described how his “screaming” 15-year-old daughter was “wrestled” away from their parents when they arrived at Taplow Manor, formerly known as Huntercombe Hospital Maidenhead, in May 2022 – an incident which he claims marked the start of “over-reliance” on restraint and force feeding during their six-month stay at the unit.

The hospital, which has now been shut down, came under the spotlight in 2022 afterThe Independent revealed allegations from dozens of former patients across multiple Huntercombe Hospital Group childrens’ hospitals, alleging systemic abuse and poor care. At an inquest in August, a coroner ruled that Ruth Szymankiewicz, who was treated there for an eating disorder, had been “unlawfully killed” in February 2022 following a catalogue of care failings.

Mr Quigley has now opened up about his family’s experience at the unit, claiming there was a lack of staff without proper training. His daughter, who he says was tube-fed for the entire six months they were there, was even mocked for being autistic by a nurse, he claims.

At a second private hospital where they were admitted to in 2024 for three months, Mr Quigley claims staff forgot to feed his daughter 11 times, despite their illness. The MP has claimed the private sector “profits from misery”.

Recalling his family’s experience at Taplow Manor, he said: “There was a massive over-reliance on restraint, which we didn’t realise, and so the moment we got there, they said ‘oh mum and dad go that way’ and basically wrestled our daughter off of us and carried them upstairs screaming.”

He added: “You’ve got a complete lack of staff, mainly agency staff, and an absolute lack of training in terms of people that understand eating disorders. But also no understanding of the link between autism and eating disorders.” He added: “They were mocked by a nurse.”

Mr Quigley told how he and his wife were given no choice but to send their child. , who now uses the pronouns they, to the scandal-hit hospital after being told it was the only option at the time.

He said: “No one would take my daughter. We had a three-month wait and we had to say yes to the first unit that became available.

“The first unit that became available was Huntercombe just three months after Ruth Szymankiewicz ended her life, which is not what you wanted to hear as a parent.”

Ruth, 14, died after a litany of failings at Huntercombe Hospital. She was left alone by a care worker who’d had only a few days of training and was working at the hospital under a fake ID, despite needing to be under constant observation.

During the 15 minutes she was left alone Ruth, who suffered from an eating disorder, was able to fatally self-harm. An inquest into her death revealed the hospital faced daily concerns over short staffing.

Mr Quigley added: “It was terrifying, as you’ve got no option, so you’re left with watching your child descend and fall through the floor in terms of their weight, and the only option you’ve got is a private equity-run hospital that’s just seen the death of a 14-year-old.

“It was horrendous and they were struggling to fill rooms after the death of Ruth.”

Now 18, Mr Quigley’s child, who has asked to remain anonymous, told The Independent: “People sort of think it just ends when you come home, yet I still live with the trauma every day of it and how it has a significant impact.”

Mr Quigley has called for the government to launch an inquiry into the deaths of patients with eating disorders, increase funding for research into the illness and end NHS reliance on private care.

During a Westminster Hall debate on preventing eating disorder death earlier this month, he told MPs: “Our experience of private equity is that it is selective in terms of the patients accepted. It profits from misery.

“We were put in the awful position of having to choose to send our youngest child to a hospital that had just seen the tragic death of Ruth Szymankiewicz—I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Ruth’s parents. Our second trip to a private equity-run hospital led to them forgetting to feed my daughter 11 times.”

The unit which Mr Quigley claimed forgot to feed his child 11 times was The Priory Group’s Roehampton hospital, he revealed to The Independent.

The MP has urged the government to end its use of privately owned mental health hospitals, which charge the NHS hundreds per day for per bed.

“If you asked me for a magic wand, the first thing that would end would be the overreliance on private equity,” he said.

He was one of multiple MPs who criticised the current state of eating disorder services in the UK during the debate last week.

Wimbledon MP, Paul Kohler, who also said his daughter had suffered from an eating disorder, warned families face an “overstretched and underfunded system” where patients are told “go away and come back when you are thinner.”

The Department for Health and Social Care did not respond to Mr Quigley’s calls for an inquiry into eating disorder deaths or to end the over-reliance on private equity-run care.

It said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with Mr Quigley and any parent or carer looking after a child with an eating disorder. For too long, people with eating disorders have not been getting the support they deserve, but this government is working to fix that.” It added that it is providing £10 million in funding this year for eating disorder services.

The Priory Group, which runs the Roehampton hospital, said: “While Mr Quigley’s claim is not reflected in our records, we recognise that supporting loved ones with eating disorders is complex and challenging, and we will make contact with him to offer to discuss his daughter’s case in detail and investigate any concerns he has.

“We would also be very willing to work collaboratively with him and other stakeholders on his efforts to improve eating disorder services more broadly.”

The Priory Group added that Mr Quigley’s comments were “unverified” and “not facts” and claimed there was no basis on which to make the claims that independent healthcare providers are selective in the patients they treat and that they “profit from misery”.

The provider claimed the NHS only refers the most “challenging” eating disorder cases to the private sector as it does not have the capacity and expertise to deal with them.

Active Care Group, which ran the Huntercombe Maidenhead, said it acquired the remaining services of the Huntercombe Group in December 2021, following its administration and “years of well-documented mismanagement.”

It said it directed significant investment in staff training, recruitment, and the hospital estate, over 18 months, but closed the hospital as it believed it could not achieve the high standards needed within an “acceptable timescale.”

ACG added that it has achieved 100 per cent Good or Outstanding ratings from the CQC over the past 12 months.