Staff at a specialist eating disorder unit have been photographed sleeping when they should have been looking after patients who were at risk of harming themselves.<\/p>\n
There were multiple \u00ab\u00a0unsafe\u00a0\u00bb incidents because of staff failings, according to whistleblowers.<\/p>\n
Many seriously ill patients have told the BBC they felt their time on the unit had made their condition worse.<\/p>\n
Schoen Clinic York said \u00ab\u00a0where specific concerns have been raised, they have been fully investigated and addressed\u00a0\u00bb but no \u00ab\u00a0systemic issues\u00a0\u00bb were found.<\/p>\n
The unit closed on 27 August due to \u00ab\u00a0low levels of referrals from across England to the service\u00a0\u00bb, according to the NHS. The company still runs a dementia unit in the same building.<\/p>\n
We were first alerted to problems in the eating disorder unit by a woman, who we are calling Naomi.<\/p>\n
She spent time there in 2024 and contacted us through ‘Your Voice, Your BBC News’ after reading a report where MPs described the rise in cases as an \u00ab\u00a0emergency\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
In total, we have spoken to nine former inpatients and five members of staff who told us of:<\/p>\n
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article help is available via the BBC’s Action Line page.<\/p>\n
Naomi, who is in her 30s, wanted to live at home during treatment for her anorexia so she could continue to look after her child. However, she was told community treatment was not available and she would need to be admitted to Schoen Clinic York for round-the-clock specialist care.<\/p>\n
Two years earlier, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had rated the service as \u00ab\u00a0good\u00a0\u00bb, saying it provided \u00ab\u00a0safe care\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0managed risk well\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
However, all of the patients the BBC has spoken to, including Naomi, vehemently disagree with the healthcare watchdog’s findings. They spent time at the unit, after the CQC’s inspection, and were funded by the NHS.<\/p>\n
Since 2022, the CQC said there had been \u00ab\u00a0continued monitoring of the provider\u00a0\u00bb including two visits to speak to patients and staff. They said it was \u00ab\u00a0concerning\u00a0\u00bb that \u00ab\u00a0people who used the service feel so let down\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Day-to-day care at Schoen Clinic York’s eating disorder service was mostly provided by nurses and healthcare assistants, which included agency staff.<\/p>\n
Patients said while some were \u00ab\u00a0hardworking\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0supportive\u00a0\u00bb, others had little experience with mental health issues and sometimes lacked compassion.<\/p>\n
The BBC has seen photographs and a video taken by two patients, Naomi and Harriet, which they said show three members of staff asleep during times when they should have been monitoring them.<\/p>\n
A care guide given to patients said they would be \u00ab\u00a0supervised\u00a0\u00bb for 40 minutes after every meal – a time where they may be tempted to rid their body of food by vomiting, taking laxatives or exercising excessively.<\/p>\n
Naomi said she took her photo shortly after she had eaten her dinner.<\/p>\n
Frustrated with the \u00ab\u00a0poor care\u00a0\u00bb she had received, Naomi took a picture of the sleeping healthcare assistant to prove it had happened.<\/p>\n
She said it \u00ab\u00a0felt like it was a total disregard for us as patients\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0illustrated a lack of care\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Molly, 23, from Leeds, spent four months at Schoen in 2023 and agrees with Naomi.<\/p>\n
During her stay, Molly required one-to-one observation to prevent her from exercising excessively. However, she says she would often \u00ab\u00a0wake up in the night and hear staff snoring\u00a0\u00bb so would get out of bed and quietly pace the room to try and burn energy.<\/p>\n
People with eating disorders are susceptible to self-harm. However, patients said some workers failed to provide appropriate therapeutic support.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was in my room, cutting myself. Staff would come in and see me doing it and walk back out without saying anything,\u00a0\u00bb said Abbie, 26, who was an inpatient in 2023.<\/p>\n
One evening staff did step in after Abbie deliberately injured her head. She says she was rushed to A&E but the staff member who was meant to be looking after her fell asleep in the waiting room for several hours.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was tempted to leg it, but I was in so much pain I couldn’t,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
The lack of monitoring left vulnerable patients in \u00ab\u00a0unsafe\u00a0\u00bb situations, according to staff whistleblowers, who have asked to remain anonymous because they are worried speaking out will impact their ability to work in the future.<\/p>\n
We shared the findings of our investigation with the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorders Faculty, Dr Ashish Kumar.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I sympathise that sometimes there are staff who are overworked or units that are understaffed,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0However, not responding to patients when they’re suffering can lead to more serious harm and possibly death.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Schoen said it was unable to comment on individual cases but staff \u00ab\u00a0anticipate and manage the risk\u00a0\u00bb of self-harm through \u00ab\u00a0individualised care plans, enhanced observation where necessary and clinical escalation protocols\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
All staff have been \u00ab\u00a0vetted, trained and supervised before working with patients\u00a0\u00bb, it added.<\/p>\n
Understandably, the quality of food served to a person with an eating disorder is important to aid their recovery.<\/p>\n
However, patients said they were not taken seriously when they repeatedly raised concerns about the meals served at Schoen Clinic York.<\/p>\n
One woman told us she and others were served food with hair in it in May 2025.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was like, ‘I can’t eat that. We’re in here with food issues, you can’t serve us hairy food’,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
A month earlier, health inspectors had given a one-star food hygiene rating to Schoen. Only 90 out of 31,380 care settings in England have such a low score.<\/p>\n
Concerns included kitchen workers not wearing hair nets or tying their hair back.<\/p>\n
Many of the patients told us the food could sometimes be \u00ab\u00a0inedible\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0When we complained they said ‘it’s just your eating disorder talking’,\u00a0\u00bb said former patient Harriet, who was at the unit in 2023.<\/p>\n
In the same year, Molly’s mother Sarah became so concerned she wrote to the clinic’s management.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Dishes often contain meat that looks like cartilage, jelly and fat, with a high percentage of gristle,\u00a0\u00bb she wrote. \u00ab\u00a0I would expect the quality of the nutrition provided to be of the highest in order to motivate the patients to eat.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
In response, Schoen said it takes \u00ab\u00a0any concerns about food quality seriously\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0There was a period when we were required to use a designated food supplier by our landlords\u00a0\u00bb which \u00ab\u00a0aligns with the timeframe when some patients raised concerns\u00a0\u00bb, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Schoen said it had \u00ab\u00a0addressed the issues\u00a0\u00bb identified in the latest food hygiene inspection and its kitchens were overseen by a new head chef.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I’m absolutely horrified and disgusted to hear about these terrible experiences,\u00a0\u00bb said Wera Hobhouse, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders, .<\/p>\n
Responding to reports from patients that staff at Schoen used triggering language such as \u00ab\u00a0just eat something\u00a0\u00bb, the Liberal Democrat MP said too often \u00ab\u00a0eating disorders are seen as a choice\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0there is so much patient blaming going on\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We know that people can fully recover from an eating disorder, but too many patients are in services where staff are not trained well enough,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
Schoen Clinic York expanded in February to treat dementia patients in the same building as those with eating disorders and the BBC has been told that staff would move between the two services.<\/p>\n
The BBC learned that a week after the eating disorder unit closed in August, the dementia unit \u2013 also known as Wellen Court \u2013 was stopped from accepting new patients amid safety concerns.<\/p>\n
York City Council, which funds local dementia care placements, confirmed it had \u00ab\u00a0temporarily paused\u00a0\u00bb admissions to ensure \u00ab\u00a0there is a safe environment\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Off the back of its concerns, the CQC carried out an unannounced inspection, with the findings to be published in due course.<\/p>\n
Schoen said it welcomed \u00ab\u00a0enhanced safeguarding measures\u00a0\u00bb and its residents received \u00ab\u00a0high standards of care\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
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