Becklin Centre - Leeds

paddy D.

The staff don’t feed you. I had one sandwich in the time I was there. Lost about a stone although I was already underweight. Workers slamming doors every 10 mins even throughout the night. Some may think that’s why their doctors are diagnosing patients with psychosis, because patients are food and sleep deprived. Workers try to sneak up on patients but when confronted they call backup. Not a nice place. Not a single member of staff will help you out with mental health by talking and hearing you out but will administer life changing drugs that ruin lives, forcefully, just because the patient is there (locked in a psych ward). A lot of patients I saw there had drug induced psychosis, and a few weeks later were a lot fatter and couldn’t speak. This is because the meds they were given are toxic and block a crucial part of the brains survival, neuronal pathways. That’s for the rest of the patients life. The staff aren’t there to help if they think harming patients for being mentally ill, in a place deemed necessary for the mentally ill, is the right way to go about it.

Elnaz M.

The most horrible hospital on the earth without doubt!
I have stayed there for 5 days for small issue having little stress with my daily life. They made me absolutely crazy. I went there with fantastic mood and after just 5 days turned to a crazy person. They made me cry all the time forecastle they did not stick to what they say!

Edris T.

It's not like a hotel!!!
At the first night I was confused and so sad ... till three days.
I thought with myself, I am here so will be acheive!
Hence Force I star to chatting with every nurses who I feel happy with them... Anyway
They help me more when I was there even after discharged.
Everything it depends our attiude.
I'm appreciate of CAS staffs.

Victoria H.

Traumatised. Physically beaten. Minimal force is NOT practiced here. Bullies working in mental health and they intimidate vulnerable people. Patients are allowed to be attacked by other patients. Hell on earth.

Mel R.

Absolutely diabolical experience in the Section 136. None of the staff introduced themselves, I had no idea what was happening. I was denied my bipolar medication despite begging all day. I was incredibly distressed and unwell, as I'd already been in A&E beforehand.

I was severely harming myself and this was ignored by staff. Left alone all day crying so hard until I was sick. Started withdrawals from my meds, which made my psychotic symptoms return - I began hallucinating and was very frightened. My meds cause serious harm if stopped suddenly, which I informed them of, and they kept promising a doctor who never came, and they used the excuse that "it's a Saturday" ?

I was severely physically assaulted by a male member of staff (assisted by a male nurse) who dragged me along the floor, hit, kicked and spat at me and threw me to the ground and took my phone away from me. When challenging his aggressive behaviour he only had sarcastic comments and actually laughed as he agreed with me that he was incredibly aggressive. He said it like it was funny and he was proud of himself for harming a young woman half his size and age. Absolutely disgusting behaviour. He needs to be struck off.

A lot of the staff are agency and couldn't care less about actually caring for patients. I was in here 4 years ago and it was awful, and I'm disappointed to say it's now 100 times worse. I don't know how this place is allowed to remain open. Threatening behaviour, denying very poorly people their medication, staff are pathetic bullies using excessive force under the guise of 'restraining' for no reason. Admission into this place is a death sentence.

I was assessed nearly a full day after being in this hell hole and they decided I "have capacity and can go home", which is what they always do instead of actually helping me. All of this trauma, for nothing. I have been so incredibly unwell and having awful trauma flashbacks every day since. I already have clinically diagnosed C-PTSD from my last admission into this place.

Other notable terrible things - this hospital is disgusting. The floors are dirty and covered with woodlouse. The section 136 bathroom has a shower (if you can call it that) which is pretty useless considering they won't give you a towel or allow you to access your bag or get someone to drop off clean clothes. I was drenched in sweat, blood, vomit and tears and felt so disgusting wearing the same clothes for so long.

They also have no bin in the bathroom (or anywhere else) so nowhere to bin your hand towels after washing your hands. I was told this was because someone had "smashed it up" - but it's pretty poor, embarrassing and dehumanising to people who menstruate who may have sanitary waste - that's assuming you're lucky enough to get a staff member to give you anything!

I wish there was an option to give a minus rating. Absolutely shocking. This place needs thorough investigation and drastic changes, people are at risk and it's unacceptable.

Suchaone

My brother was admitted on June 8th, 2023, for the second time following a psychotic episode. We had expected the staff to be compassionate, supportive, and equipped to help him recover. Sadly, this was far from reality. A majority of the staff were overtly indifferent. They often sat at the front desk engrossed in their mobile phones, engaging in texting or social media. Interaction with both visitors and the patients, who aimlessly wandered around the reception, was minimal.

Despite numerous reports, my brother's belongings, including his clothing, were frequently stolen by other patients. The excuse was that they "didn’t have a key for his door." Consequently, he was hesitant to bring anything from home, fearing theft. There's a stark absence of activities for patients (only fair to mention there are some… but they are far too minimal) especially those without mobile phones or laptops. Most are merely medicated and left to their own devices. It truly was such a sad sight.

Feeling isolated, my brother tried initiating conversations with the staff, but they often responded with terse, one-word answers. He felt as though he was a nuisance, leading him to spend most of his time alone in his room, safeguarding his few possessions. I once suggested he bring in his laptop so we could play games, but he was petrified it would be stolen or coveted by others.

His withdrawal intensified due to the lack of engagement and theft. Moreover, the screams from other patients and the frequent alarms have given him PTSD. Prior to this experience, he never had sleep issues. Now, he struggles to fall asleep and remains withdrawn, even at home.

Patients are stripped of their dignity. It's not uncommon to see them soaked in sweat and covered in dirt. Compassion is almost non-existent, despite this group needing it the most. It's evident that a majority of the staff are only interested in their paycheck, showing little commitment to the well-being of the patients.

I hope I never find myself in such a facility; the staff seem more suited to be bouncers than caregivers. For the patients' sake, it's crucial to provide them with more engaging activities. Engage with them compassionately, on an individual level. While there are a few group activities available, it's insufficient. They deserve to be treated with the dignity and respect due every human being. I wish it was possible for me to volunteer to spend time with patients… my brother is luckily out now but I still think about the patients I saw being ignored by staff. I would name names but unfortunately, I have no clue how to spell or pronounce their names since they were mostly foreign.

Bethany N.

0 if there was an option.
A relative is currently in here, the treatment that they have had is diabolical.
They have been assaulted with unnecessary force, with photo evidence, verbally abused and not even been given current and daily medication but sedated with needles while family members can hear everything on the phone.
Staff promise phone calls to discuss complaints with relatives and the phone calls never come.
There are some nice members of staff, but the bad ones outweigh them unfortunately.
Prisoners are treated with more dignity.
Formal complains with be following this review. CQC need to investigate the wrong doings. You are supposed to be saving lives not making them worse.
Appalling!

DLC

If i could rate lower than a single star then i honestly would i had my first run in with the Crisis team some years ago they sent three trainee's to a paranoid schizophrenics house and they tried to tell me that my PS was actually just "Asperger's" me and my Dad couldn't believe such stupidity and you may think "Why don't you give them a break they were new at there jobs" well i stressed how bad the situation at hand was and they didn't register or take it serious enough not my fault there useless, years later went in here around April after being sent here for an assessment by my GP i went in to be told that even though i'd been seeing a personal psychologist that they wouldn't accept any of this notes on me or information i couldn't believe it when they said to me "We're not professionals in mental health" i thought to myself how truly absurd to be hearing such things in a mental hospital of all places how utterly useless can these people actually be? there truly beyond doubt braindead i told them that i was suffering from homicidal ideation and suicidal ideation they took me telling them what my auditory hallucinations were telling me to do as such a threat that they called the police on me! i was thrown in a cell and interrogated by counter-terrorism for simply asking for help from these insolent fools please for the love of all that is holy avoid this place at all costs don't even use them as a last resort! thankfully i went private and got my paranoid schizophrenia diagnosed by an extremely competent professional i cannot encourage you enough if you have the money to go private then do so you won't regret it!