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Investigation Launched on Nursing Home that Provided Prostitutes, Strippers to Patients

By Makini Brice | Update Date: Jan 29, 2013 12:57 PM EST

An assisted living facility in England has found itself embroiled in a sex scandal. The Chaseley Trust reportedly invited strippers and prostitutes to their center in order to alleviate any sexual frustrations that the disabled residents may have had. Defenders of the trust note that the transaction is not illegal in England and it is immoral to refuse tenants' sexual rights, but investigators worry that sex surrogates may be taking advantage of the residents.

The Telegraph reports that the practice was reported by Helena Barrow, who formerly managed the facility and now works at another assisted living center. She said that the practice was put in place to accommodate the sexual needs of the residents there, some of whom had neurological conditions and were young as 18 years old, according to LiveScience. She said that, if they were not accommodated, it could become dangerous for the carers at the facility and that the center would not be providing a holistic standard of care.

"If you have a resident who is groping staff, one way of resolving that problem is to get a sex worker in who is trained to deal with that situation," she explained to the Telegraph. "But most of the time, these are people who feel frustrated by a primeval need they cannot fulfill."

Barrow reported that workers would dial the phone number and hold the phone to the patient's ear, or use the computer, in order to find patients appropriate sex surrogates. Patients would pay for the transactions with their own money. When the sex surrogate arrived, the patient would be escorted to a designated room with a red sock on the door so they would not be disturbed. A carer would check on them every 15 minutes.

Chaseley's current manager Sue Wyatt said that an independent person who worked in the home was used to connect patients with sex workers.  

One time the trust invited strippers to perform for the facility's residents.

The matter is being investigated by the Care Quality Commission in order to determine safeguards against abuse. The council's spokesman declined to say whether they had received complaints on the matter.

Prostitution is legal in England as long as there is no third party, like a pimp or madam, involved.

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