Calls to ban Oxevision cameras from bedrooms of people with mental illness

CCTV and cameras are not uncommon in mental health wards and are designed to keep patients safe. But some say new technology that allows cameras to monitor their pulses and breathing in their bedrooms has increased their sense of paranoia and, in some cases, made them more uncomfortable.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists and mental health charity Rethink have now said they want to see a pause in the rollout of video surveillance.

“It feels like Big Brother is always watching you, which is really scary as a person with mental illness, especially when you're paranoid,” said Hart, 27.

“It also takes away your already diminished privacy and dignity.”

Sophie, Nell and Hat all spent time in the mental health ward.

Now they are concerned about camera surveillance being installed in bedrooms without explicit consent and want its use stopped.

“It feels like there's an invisible person following me. It's really scary and I feel very uncomfortable. It doesn't feel safe sleeping in bed with a camera… not knowing who is watching me or when,” Suo said. Fina said.

The technology, called Oxevision, which can also monitor a patient's pulse and breathing, said its maker said it was “proven” to help keep patients safe, but some told BBC West Investigative Channel they were terrified. So much so that they slept in hallways, bathrooms and even rooms. external.

Hart, who is from Weston-super-Mare and now lives in Exeter, is part of the Stop Oxevision campaign.

Like Sofina, 28, from the West Midlands, dozens of others have contacted them wanting to share their experiences.

“People say they're afraid to sleep in their own beds,” Hart said.

“They've been sleeping on the bathroom floor. They've been sleeping under tables or outside in common areas – just because they're too scared of the cameras.

“For a lot of people, when they're really uncomfortable, it can be related to fear or trauma related to surveillance – whether that's paranoia or related to past trauma, like sexual abuse or domestic abuse.”

Nell, 36, from Brighton, said the experience of camera surveillance was “dehumanizing” and “isolating”.

“It would be understandable to assume that adding additional levels of surveillance would provide security, but that is not the case. No one actually entered the room to interact with me.”

Oxevision is currently used in a number of mental health hospitals across England.

Infrared cameras monitor patients in their bedrooms, and the technology is designed to measure pulse, breathing rate and movement to confirm the patient is safe, meaning fewer one-on-one observations are needed.

Hospital staff will not view the footage all the time, but can review it for short periods of time, and if a risk is detected, an alert will sound and staff can immediately care for the patient.

But Hart said the campaign group was told hospitals did not always obtain consent from patients and their families and believed the technology was not always used correctly, affecting their privacy.

They said: “We have heard that monitors can be seen in corridors and gardens in a number of locations, so there is nothing to stop other patients seeing this.”

Hart, Nell and Sofina aren't the only ones with this concern.

ongoing Lampard investigates mental health deaths The county of Essex also highlighted potential problems with the technology.

As part of its wider scope, it listened to Tammy Smith, mother of Sophie Aldermanwho believes Oxevision may have damaged her daughter's mental health before her death in 2022.

The inquest heard that Sophie, 27, felt “deeply uncomfortable around cameras” which triggered severe paranoia and she believed she was being watched by the government.

Mrs Smith said she was “deeply concerned that the Oxevision camera continued to be present in Sophie's room” and would therefore cause her “real and significant distress”.

Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Jay Watts, a patient at a mental health hospital, called the use of Oxevision a “scandal”.

“It's actually one of the worst things that can happen when we're taking advantage of our discomfort, feeling like we're being investigated for someone else's benefit rather than what's most important and necessary to us,” she said.

She said the technology was “attractive” to NHS managers because “it's a way to save money”.

She added: “Mental health is still a very, very unpopular phenomenon because it's underfunded, ignored and actually dehumanized in a way that we don't find elsewhere.”

The Royal College of Psychiatrists and mental health charity Rethink also said they wanted to see a pause in the rollout of video surveillance.

A spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: “Video surveillance technologies vary from CCTV to systems that electronically track vital signs and may play a positive role in this agenda.”

“However, before any further rollout of video surveillance technology can be considered, we believe that substantial research is needed, which needs to be independently endorsed and conducted with patients, their carers and families.”

Brian Dow, deputy chief executive of Rethink, said any form of monitoring must have “clear, unambiguous and ongoing consent from the patient…otherwise it could do more harm than good”.

He added: “We believe there should be a moratorium on this technology until we have a framework that guides the use and application of these technologies because I think that will provide comfort for patients, families and professionals working in that environment.”

NHS England said it had instructed mental health trusts to review the use of camera surveillance and would update its guidance in the coming months.

In response to these concerns, Oxehealth, the manufacturer of the technology, said: “The Oxevision platform features regulated medical device software that has been proven to help clinical teams improve safety while delivering therapeutic, personalized care to patients.

“To support healthcare providers, national guidance has been developed to guide the implementation and effective use of the platform.”

But for Hart, Nell and Sofina, it's not enough.

Hart said: “We completely understand the need to save money for the NHS but this is absolutely not the way to do it.”