TWO staff members at a specialist hospital unit who were filmed mistreating vulnerable patients lost challenges against their convictions at the Court of Appeal today.

Peter Bennett, 55 and Matthew Banner, 44, were found guilty of ill-treatment of patients at Whorlton Hall, a 17-bed independent unit for people with complex needs near Barnard Castle, County Durham and sentenced in January.

The men were recorded by undercover BBC Panorama reporter Olivia Davies, who used a hidden camera to expose the poor treatment patients received behind closed doors at the hospital unit in 2019.

Their barristers told a hearing in London in September that their actions “did not meet the test for ill-treatment.”

But in a ruling today, three judges dismissed their appeals.

Mr Bennett was convicted of two counts of ill-treatment of a person in care and Mr Banner five counts of the same offence in April 2023, following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Both men received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and were ordered to complete 280 hours of unpaid work.

Their trial heard that staff at Whorlton Hall supported patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act, requiring 24-hour care.

Prosecutors said there appeared to have been a “culture of inappropriate behaviour,” with claims of “minimal training,” the hall being understaffed and “caring for patients being extremely challenging.”

The trial was told patients were distressed as they were verbally abused, mocked and wound up by some of the hospital staff.