A furious husband is “disgusted” that NHS bosses have not sacked an employee who secretly filmed his wife suffering a mental health crisis and then shared the harrowing footage on a WhatsApp group.
Julie Trafford, 53, was recorded “covertly” because she had a disturbing psychotic incident in the foyer of the Becklin Centre, in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
The receptionist who filmed it published the seven videos on the messaging platform, which were seen by more than 20 strangers.
Julie’s husband Andrew is demanding answers from Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust over why the undercover registrar still has his job after his “nefarious” actions.
The NHS Trust, which described the recording as an isolated incident, confirmed that the staff member was still working for them, despite the breach.
Husband Andrew, 59, who cares for his wife full-time, said: “Everything is still too raw for Julie.”
The Trust has apologized and is now considering recommendations made by England’s healthcare regulator, after five complaints about Mrs Trafford’s care were upheld.
Julie has struggled with mental health issues since she was 20 years old and had been institutionalized several times before.
Julie Trafford, 53 (pictured), was ‘covertly’ recorded having a disturbing psychotic incident in the foyer of the Becklin Centre, in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Andrew Trafford (pictured) is “disgusted” that NHS bosses have not sacked an employee who secretly filmed his wife suffering a mental breakdown.
Pictured: A letter Julie received from the NHS about being filmed without her consent.
After her father died three years ago, she said things had become more difficult for her.
She was admitted to the Becklin Center on October 2, 2023, suffered a nervous breakdown on October 4, and was filmed in the reception area.
The day before she was discharged, October 18, a member of management gave her a letter. He said seven videos had been taken of him and shared in a WhatsApp group without his consent.
But Julie and her husband, who have three grandchildren, aren’t happy that heads haven’t rolled.
Julie, who worked in NHS administration before falling ill, only found out about the secret filming almost a fortnight after it happened.
Andrew said: “We were both told on the same day, while Julie was still in hospital and due to be discharged the next day. “They called me at exactly the same time and it was the first time we found out.
“The incident occurred on October 4 and we were not notified until the 17th.”
The Traffords have not been given any explanation as to why a member of staff decided to record and share Julie in the reception area.
Andrew said: ‘It’s a data breach.
‘We don’t know anything about the WhatsApp group or who created it.
“I’ve seen the videos, as have many people, and they clearly show Julie going through a psychotic moment.
“The only reason I see him secretly filming Julie is for nefarious reasons, because he certainly hasn’t done it for medical reasons.
‘In the videos you can see the NHS computer screen in front of you and in front of it is your laptop, and your phone is connected to the laptop; some might say that, perhaps, he was broadcasting live.
‘There were seven videos, one of which showed Julie being restrained. All videos are in the space of 15 minutes.
Jule was admitted to the Becklin Center (pictured) on October 2, 2023 and suffered a nervous breakdown on October 4, and was filmed in the reception area.
Then he shared them with the WhatsApp group, I have no idea what it was called, but it had a minimum of 20 people. Some of them are NHS employees, but a couple of people were members of the public.
Andrew said the treatment of Julie is “shocking” and “disgusting” and claims the NHS has failed to live up to its core values.
Andrew said the culprit worked as a receptionist in a “patient-facing” role.
Julie had her own room at the Becklin Center, but her filmed psychotic episode occurred in the lobby as she attempted to leave the building on October 4.
“It’s amazing that someone did this and then kept their job,” Andrew said.
Andrew complained to West Yorkshire Police but they were unable to discover anything on which they could make an arrest.
“People don’t do this in isolation, so it begs the question of how many other people have you done this to?”
‘We want to know what else is on his hard drive and whether the Trust checked the phones of those 20-plus people he shared this footage with.
“We want answers and closure to this matter.”
The group, around 20 people, included some NHS colleagues, but others were members of the public.
The NHS letter said the videos were quickly removed.
In the footage, Julie could be seen repeatedly kicking and punching the front door of the hospital reception.
A later video showed her being restrained by several staff members.
She doesn’t remember much about the incident, saying, “I felt trapped and wanted to get away from the room.”
A year later, she was still “deeply upset” by the incident.
‘Why would anyone do that?’ she asked.
‘Especially NHS employees. It’s totally out of order.’
The news that the worker who recorded and shared the footage had not lost his job has left the Traffords in a state of disbelief.
“I personally thought it was a given that he wouldn’t keep his job,” he said.
Julie had her own room at the Becklin Center (pictured), but her filmed psychotic episode occurred in the lobby as she attempted to leave the building on October 4.
“I would have expected them not to want someone like that in their company.”
“These people need to be held accountable for sweeping this under the rug, because that’s how we feel.”
Since then, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, has upheld five complaints made by the couple.
It made several recommendations, including that the trust should clarify whether the staff member involved was still performing a patient care role at the facility.
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is required to respond to the CQC’s recommendations within one month.
The trust’s chief executive, Dr Sara Munro, said she was sorry for the “harm caused by the unacceptable actions of a member of staff” in this “disturbing case”.
He said he wanted to reassure people “that they are safe in the care of the Trust”.
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said Ms Trafford’s experience was “deeply sad and shocking”.
He added that the charity was receiving an increasing number of reports from those “too fearful to entrust the care of a loved one to hospital psychiatric services”.
Trafford MP Richard Burgon has written to the trust for more information about its investigation.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, the public data protection body, said it was also assessing the incident.
A Department of Health spokesperson said this was a “very worrying” case, adding: “We hope that NHS organizations take allegations of staff misconduct very seriously and investigate incidents appropriately.”
“All people suffering from mental health problems deserve to be cared for with dignity and respect.”