A care worker has been arrested on suspicion of raping a patient at a mental health hospital caring for hundreds of NHS patients.
The worker is one of eight employees at the privately run St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, who were arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment in relation to allegations of assault against a patient made in July 2025.
Now, Northamptonshire Police have confirmed toThe Independent that one suspect was also arrested on suspicion of rape. They have been released on bail, and the investigation into all eight workers is ongoing.
St Andrew’s is facing a separate investigation into the death of a patient in February 2025. Five people were arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. Four 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.
Police also launched a corporate manslaughter investigation after the death of a teenager in October 2024, but no further action was taken after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service. Police are now preparing a report into what happened for the Coroner ahead of an inquest.
St Andrews Healthcare is a registered charity providing inpatient mental healthcare services to the NHS across its three major hospitals in Northampton, Birmingham and Essex. It receives patients from across the country, including from Scotland and Wales.
The provider earns more than £200 million a year from NHS contracts, which is its main source of income, and also provides specialist inpatient services to the NHS, such as inpatient services for deaf adults.
Northamptonshire Police confirmed the rape allegation in a statement, saying that the “complex investigation is ongoing, with all eight people arrested remaining on bail.
“One of the people arrested in connection with the investigation has been arrested on suspicion of rape, for which they are on bail.”
In an earlier statement released toThe Independent on Friday, a spokesperson said: “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 spokesperson for St Andrew’s Healthcare said it had a zero‑tolerance approach to allegations of harm and immediately reported all matters to the police for investigation, as it did in the July 2025 case. They added: “As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.
“In relation to the investigations, all staff involved were immediately suspended. Several have since been dismissed following our own internal investigation and disciplinary process. We have also referred several to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”
