NHS boss apologises after A&E staff play 'Halloween Bingo' with points for spotting spiking victims
A senior NHS nurse has apologised after a whistleblower exposed how staff played a “disgusting” game of ‘Halloween bingo’ that saw participants win points for spotting spiking victims.
The bingo card was spotted by a friend of an A&E patient who made a formal complaint to Leeds General Infirmary.
It comes as St John Ambulance announced it was expanding its late-night treatment sites in towns and cities in the run-up to Christmas in response to hundreds of reports of injection spiking incidents.
Categories that staff were urged to tick off for points in the game of bingo included ‘Spiked' and 'Stabby McStabberson'.
Another category referred to the popular Netflix show Squid Game, with staff winning a bonus point if they spotted a “sexy” version of the outfit.
An unnamed whistleblower who saw staff playing the sick game now says staff needed to be "held to account for this disgusting and unprofessional behaviour”.
The whistleblower said: "Unfortunately, I ended up in A&E at the Leeds General Infirmary over Halloween weekend.
Watch: Hundreds march through Manchester over drink spikings in clubs
"I noticed that the staff were playing a game of 'patient bingo', where they scored points for seeing patients wearing certain Halloween costumes.
"This would be bad enough by itself, but the bingo sheet awarded points for things like seeing 'sexy' patients, and made light of homeless people and patients who may have been spiked.
"I have complained to the hospital directly about this, but am waiting to hear back for a response.
"I think the hospital needs to be held to account for this disgusting and unprofessional behaviour."
The whistleblower said the bingo sheet was visible to anybody entering the A&E department.
Chief nurse Lisa Grant has now apologised for the offence caused and said "appropriate action" will now be taken against those involved in playing the game.
She said: “I apologise for the offence caused by this behaviour in our emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary.
"We are extremely disappointed and dismayed that this has happened in one of our hospitals.
"This is clearly unacceptable, and we are taking the appropriate action with those involved.
"We are reminding all colleagues that such behaviours and activities have absolutely no place in our trust.”
A surge of spiking incidents have been reported in recent months, with two men arrested in Sussex last month on suspicion of spiking.
One reported case saw a 25-year-old woman claiming she was spiked on a night out, resulting in her being rushed to hospital suffering a seizure.
Kirsty Howells had been drinking with friends when she claims she was spiked with an unknown substance that rendered her unconscious.
Thousands of young people from university cities across the UK also boycotted nightclubs for a “girls’ night in” as they protested against a sharp rise in spiking cases.
Watch: Girls Night In: Nightclub boycotts to highlight drink spiking
