Woman banned from all hospitals after fake ‘quiet NHS’ social media posts

St Richard's Hospital, ChichesterSt Richard's Hospital, Chichester
St Richard's Hospital, Chichester
A conspiracist who has repeatedly filmed medics and patients claiming the NHS is not overrun by Covid-19 has been banned from all hospitals.

Hannah Dean, 30, who was previously fined, now faces arrest and possible criminal prosecution if she ignores an Asbo-style community protection notice.

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Police confirmed she can only visit a hospital in an emergency, for a booked appointment or if she is a dependent of a patient.

Fines of up to £2,500 could be issued by the courts if she is convicted of breaching the notice.

It also bans her from encouraging others to flout Covid national lockdown restrictions.

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It comes after she was handed a £200 fixed penalty notice for travelling to Queen Alexandra Hospital, filming there and posting on Facebook it was ‘the quietest I have ever seen it’.

She has filmed similar videos of Southampton General Hospital and repeatedly visited St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.

A post on the Hannah Dean Facebook account earlier this year featured photos supposedly showing empty corridors at St Richard’s hospital.

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Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs St Richard’s Hospital, described the post as ‘inaccurate’, ‘misleading’ and ‘highly disrespectful’ – read more here.

Chief Inspector Jon Carter, from Sussex police, said: “There are a variety of tactics of dealing with this kind of unacceptable behaviour.

“We are working together with Hampshire Constabulary to ensure the best avenues to deter this behaviour from continuing are taken.”

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Police said the woman, now of Fareham, was issued with the notice after ignoring a warning she was issued on Sunday.

She tried to film patients and staff at Portsmouth’s QA Hospital, where 744 people have died with Covid, at around 4.30pm.

Footage of QA’s A&E on the Hannah Dean Facebook account shows security saying: ‘What are you doing here, Hannah?’

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Her latest posts include ‘save our children’ and ‘save the children’ – references to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory about a secretive group running a global paedophile ring.

A video posted yesterday records her interaction with staff at the Cosham Covid testing site.

A Hampshire and Sussex police investigation has been running since she was issued with the fixed penalty notice.

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A Sussex police spokeswoman said: ”On Sunday, Sussex police issued a community protection warning to a 30-year-old woman from Fareham which prevents her from attending any hospital apart from when she has a prior appointment, is a dependent or there is a medical emergency; and to not encourage, endorse or incite another person to breach Covid restrictions.

“The woman breached the conditions of the community protection warning on the same day of the order being issued and on Monday she was issued with a community protection notice.”

A Hampshire police spokesman added: “The CPN is designed to prevent unreasonable behaviour that is having a negative impact on the local community’s quality of life.”

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Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust released the following statement following the post on the Hannah Dean Facebook account earlier this year:

“It is very disappointing to see misleading images and inaccurate comments on social media, suggesting that the NHS is not under pressure.

“This is untrue and highly disrespectful to all the patients and families affected by Covid, as well as our staff who are working extremely hard in challenging circumstances.

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“Currently at Western Sussex Hospitals we are caring for a large number of patients with Covid-19 – in fact, many more than in the peak of the first wave last April.

“We must stress, pictures of empty corridors do not mean our wards and intensive care units are empty.

“For ten months our teams have been working selflessly to care for people during the pandemic.

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“This is an extremely difficult situation for us all and it is really important that we support each other and act responsibly.

“Please do not attend our hospitals unless you have an appointment, have arranged to visit a loved one or it is an emergency.

“You can help save lives by keeping yourself safe. Please stay at home. Thank you.”