St Andrew’s Hospital paid millions by NHS facing police probe after patient death

A mental health charity that receives £206m a year to care for NHS patients is facing two police probes after the death of a patient and alleged assault of another, The Independent can reveal.

The privately run St Andrew’s Hospital, Northampton, which provides more than 400 inpatient beds for patients with brain injuries and mental health conditions such as eating disorders and psychosis, was investigated for alleged corporate manslaughter after a man died there in February 2025. Five people were arrested, but four have since been released with no further action. One person remains on bail for alleged wilful neglect by a care worker.

In a separate police probe, eight care workers have been arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment following allegations of assault made on a patient in July 2025.

The latest investigations come after another corporate manslaughter inquiry, following the death of a teenage girl at the hospital in October 2024, which led to one person being arrested.

Northampton Police said the Crown Prosecution Service had since decided no further action would be taken in that case, and the person arrested had been released with no further action. A report on the incident will be prepared for the coroner ahead of an inquest.

The hospital came under scrutiny last summer after a review of CCTV during an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog appeared to show staff assaulting patients.

The watchdog’s inspection report, published in December, said it had received seven allegations of assault by staff on patients between July and August 2025.

It also received allegations of intimidation and bullying. Two other patients told the CQC they would “prefer prison” to being in the hospital.

Following the inspection, the CQC rated the hospital “inadequate” and issued an enforcement notice, meaning it cannot admit new patients.

The CQC said in its report: “We found evidence of a hospital-wide closed culture resulting in improper and abusive treatment of people and patients. We took urgent enforcement action to impose a condition on the provider’s registration to restrict new admissions across the entire location.”

In May 2024, a coroner criticised Northampton Hospital over the suicide of 16-year-old Grace Smith, who took her own life at the hospital in 2022. A coroner ruled that staff had failed to consider her risk of suicide when they reduced the number of times staff needed to check on her, which had contributed to her death.

In 2020, St Andrew’s Healthcare charity, which runs the hospital, closed children’s wards at the site following a series of safety concerns and critical CQC reports. Before this, in 2019, the organisation faced a high-profile scandal after a 17-year-old with autism was kept locked in a room on her own for almost two years.

St Andrew’s Healthcare is a registered charity and provides inpatient mental health services across four hospitals in Northampton, Birmingham, and Essex, and received £206 million a year from NHS contracts in 2023-24.

Northampton Hospital is one of the NHS’s major providers of adult mental health beds and receives patients from across the country. In 2023-24, the average cost per bed was £685 a day, and it received at least £3.6 million from the NHS for patients who could not be treated in their local area.

This does not include the cost of the specialist beds it provides to the NHS, such as those for the deaf patients with mental health needs.

Confirming the police probes, a spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said detectives from CID and its major crime team have been involved in several investigations into incidents alleged to have taken place at St Andrew’s Hospital, Northampton.

A spokesperson said: “A corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter investigation took place following the death of a teenage girl in October 2024. Following a robust examination of the evidence and in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, it has been decided that no further action will be taken in relation to this incident. An individual was arrested in connection with this investigation but has been released with no further action.

“Separately, eight people have been arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment by a care worker in relation to allegations of assault made in July 2025. This complex investigation is ongoing with all eight people arrested remaining on bail.“

“A further investigation continues into the death of a man in February 2025. Five people were arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. Four people have been released with no further action being taken against them, while one person remains on bail for the offence of wilful neglect by a care worker.

“Due to the nature of the investigations, we remain in contact with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care. We continue to work tirelessly to establish what happened in each of these incidents and ask anyone who may have any information that could assist us to contact us on 101.”

A St Andrew’s spokesperson said: “Patient safety is our highest priority at St Andrew’s Healthcare, and we have an urgent action plan to strengthen the quality of care we provide.

“As a charity, we are committed to full transparency and take a zero-tolerance approach to any allegation of harm or poor practice. We immediately reported these cases to the police, informed the Care Quality Commission and launched internal investigations.

“Following their own independent investigation, the police concluded that no further action was required in one case and closed it. The remaining cases are ongoing with the police. It is the responsibility of the police – not St Andrew’s – to determine these outcomes after conducting thorough, independent investigations.”

A spokesperson for NHS England in the Midlands said: “The NHS is working closely with the Care Quality Commission and Northamptonshire Police to address the unacceptable standards of care at St Andrew’s Healthcare and take appropriate enforcement action.

“An intensive improvement programme is underway, including reviewing the care of every patient, monitoring staffing levels and carrying out regular site checks.”

The Department for Health and Social Care said it supports the action being taken by NHS England and the Care Quality Commission.