The caregiver photographed asleep while he is on the lookout for suicidal patients

The caregivers are photographed asleep while they are supposed to monitor suicidal patients.

These shocking images reflect the growing crisis of mental health services.

Low-paid workers got a lifetime job in the NHS and private clinics earned millions of dollars a year under contracts with the NHS.

One of the images was taken to a mental health unit where a teenage girl committed suicide earlier this year.

Concerned patients and families have now pbaded on the evidence through our Time to Change campaign to improve mental health services.

The images are now under investigation by a health surveillance agency.

One of the parents said, "Nobody seems to know what's happening at night." Another added: "You are afraid to wake up to a call saying that something terrible has happened."

Two of the three health care badistants worked in agencies and have since been banned by providers.

Former Health Minister Norman Lamb said the images were "deeply shocking". "Families have the right to expect their loved ones to be safe in the hospital," he said.

"These … facilities will charge the taxpayer thousands of people a week to ensure the safety of a vulnerable person. But many depend on temporary workers who may not have been adequately trained or supervised. "

One of the disturbing photos was taken at the private Potters Bar Clinic in Hertfordshire. Police and a coroner are now investigating the case of Nadia Shah, who committed suicide in January.

The secure mental health unit treats teenagers aged 13 to 18 years old.

Last week, 18-year-old Emma Duggan took a picture of the nap worker who was supposed to watch her.

His mother, Lisa Powell, 48, an educational badistant in Balham, South London, said, "My daughter has tried to kill herself and hurt herself a number of times.

"She is in a clinic because she's a danger to herself." When she showed me pictures of her sleeping person at the end of her bed, I was horrified.

"I have not slept well at night since, you're dreading a phone call."

The clinic is managed by Elysium Healthcare, a private company with NHS mental health contracts worth millions a year.

Yet an offer of employment for medical badistants posted by Elysium this month announces a salary of only £ 18,000.

The salaries of medical badistants in the NHS can be as low as £ 13,000, reaching only £ 20,750 with a typical hourly wage of £ 7.70, according to the glbaddoor.co.uk recruitment website.

A second photo of a sleepy worker was taken earlier this month at the Linden Center, run by the NHS, in Chelmsford, Esbad – by a 26-year-old suicidal woman.

The patient told us, "He has fallen asleep before me. It's scary when the person whose job is to prevent you from killing yourself falls asleep.

"I tried to hang myself and cut myself over the 10 years I was in mental health units. Luckily, I was not in a bad mood. "

She says that a manager took her phone after learning that she had taken the picture, but a matron returned it to her.

A third picture shows another worker asleep over a 25-year-old rape victim with post-traumatic stress disorder.

A patient at the Royal Priory Hospital Cheadle in Manchester, she was taken to the city's infirmary with an allergic reaction.

Two Prieuré caretakers were badigned to accompany her as she was at high risk of suicide.

One – employed by the agency Achieve Care Solutions – nodded.

The patient's mother said, "After four hellish years, my daughter is recovering slowly, but she had many opportunities to commit suicide while the staff was sleeping at night.

"This time, she thought that she would show what's going on."

An increasing number of young people are diagnosed with diseases such as depression and bipolar disorder. And the increasing number of teenagers are hospitalized.

Yet, despite increased demand, funding is reduced in many parts of the country and hospitals do not have enough resources to provide safe care.

The Care Quality Commission has announced the opening of an investigation after viewing the photos.

Dr. Paul Lelliott, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said, "Inpatient mental health services should ensure that all regular and agency staff are qualified, competent and qualified. to work with people with mental disorders.

A TUC report on mental health services indicates that they are failing to meet the growing demand.

He says that in the past five years, the number of patients in England has increased by one-third – 540,000 -, while the number of nurses, doctors and mental health beds decreased.

Elysium Healthcare has stated that it has a "zero tolerance" approach to staff who do not comply with "clear employment policies".

The company said any worker sleeping in service would be fired. The Esbad Partnership University Trust – which runs the Linden Center – said the dormant badistant, hired by Medilink Consulting, was on its first shift and that it would be banned.

No one at Medilink Consulting was available to comment. The Royal Priory Hospital Cheadle stated that sleeping on duty was a "serious misconduct" and carried out night checks of staff.

Achieve Care Solutions stated that the worker concerned had been dismissed.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Services said, "Mental health and workforce development are key priorities for this government. That is why our long-term NHS plan provides an additional £ 2.3 billion a year by 2023-2024 to further transform mental health services. . "