Tuesday 31st May - Panorama.

[lifetime fan]

What? Are they talking about hospitals they were sent to after Winterbourne?

 

 

Check your PM.

[Section_31]

Healthcare cannot be left to the private sector, I know the health service is pretty shit but at least there is some accountability. If the government cannot put measures in place to control these cowboys then how can we possibly turn over the care of our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers to these parasitic fuckers.

 

Yep.

 

I helped shut down a priory mental unit in my old job with my damning shit, it was my coup de gras before I left. It'd been built on the sly, and was run by a private firm. They took it over from another firm and reduced wages by up to a third for some people, their attitude was 'if you don't like it, fuck off', and people with years of experience left and were replaced by agency staff, some of whom were only 19 and had minimal training.

 

It's all, all about the bottom line. You can't make people care about other human beings by paying them, it has to be part of your value system, and when our country's value system centres around shitting on others to get ahead, what can we possibly expect?

[lifetime fan]

Another day another 'hard hitting' exposé on abuses within the system. Cue more arseholes trying to cover their backsides plus promises of change and that patient care is the number one priority. Unfortunately proper care, with properly trained and experienced staff costs, in this case too much for it actually be worthwhile to actually bother with proper care. We don't want to upset the investors now do we.

 

Healthcare cannot be left to the private sector, I know the health service is pretty shit but at least there is some accountability. If the government cannot put measures in place to control these cowboys then how can we possibly turn over the care of our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers to these parasitic fuckers.

 

 

 

Imagine if you were the manager of a hospital such as this one (just for arguments sake you understand!), you knew abuse was going on and did nothing about it. In fact you told someone who'd continually complained to you you would take it to the local Safeguarding panel, but you didn't. You did fuck all about it again.

 

Imagine if you weren't shown on the first Panorama, you might be still applying for jobs managing other hospitals. Theoretically of course.

 

But then imagine if someone had a recording of themselves making complaints to you and the BBC were going to broadcast it.

 

Now if any of that were to have happened do you think the manager might be shitting himself now...

[Thomo123]

 

Imagine if you were the manager of a hospital such as this one (just for arguments sake you understand!)' date=' you knew abuse was going on and did nothing about it. In fact you told someone who'd continually complained to you you would take it to the local Safeguarding panel, but you didn't. You did fuck all about it again.

 

Imagine if you weren't shown on the first Panorama, you might be still applying for jobs managing other hospitals. Theoretically of course.

 

But then imagine if someone had a recording of themselves making complaints to you and the BBC were going to broadcast it.

 

Now if any of that were to have happened do you think the manager might be shitting himself now...[/quote']

 

I would like to think so. It's a feeling that warms my heart somewhat, unfortunately it's tempered by the 'small drop in a big ocean' analogy. Baby steps....

[lifetime fan]

I would like to think so.

 

 

You might want to watch then.

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

You'd have thought wouldn't you. I'm ashamed of my profession at times.

 

I kind of agree with you LF. Sorry if this comes out wrong after a night out but I'll try to explain as best I can.

 

Your profession does a massively important job. Unless you are mega-rich and can afford a 'personal carer', you are likely to be cared for in an institution or at home by a massively underpaid, and most likely underqualified person. People who laugh at, or don't care about, people with learning difficulties could find themselves (when old) being cared for by the same type of workers you exposed.

 

Not saying this applies to where you work: there is a major problem with care services, and some will find this very political, but it became worse with the increase of agencies. Everything is 'competitive' and cheap, so that's what you get.

 

It's all well and good checking CRBs for previous convictions, but unless these people are exposed, they will never be prosecuted and will be free to work wherever they want. The reason for this is (from my own experience): getting an agency worker, only to find out they are not the person the agency interviewed, even though they have the agency ID. There is one country that is mainly doing this but not exclusively. I'm drunk and rambling.

[lifetime fan]

I kind of agree with you LF. Sorry if this comes out wrong after a night out but I'll try to explain as best I can.

 

Your profession does a massively important job. Unless you are mega-rich and can afford a 'personal carer', you are likely to be cared for in an institution or at home by a massively underpaid, and most likely underqualified person. People who laugh at, or don't care about, people with learning difficulties could find themselves (when old) being cared for by the same type of workers you exposed.

 

Not saying this applies to where you work: there is a major problem with care services, and some will find this very political, but it became worse with the increase of agencies. Everything is 'competitive' and cheap, so that's what you get.

 

It's all well and good checking CRBs for previous convictions, but unless these people are exposed, they will never be prosecuted and will be free to work wherever they want. The reason for this is (from my own experience): getting an agency worker, only to find out they are not the person the agency interviewed, even though they have the agency ID. There is one country that is mainly doing this but not exclusively. I'm drunk and rambling.

 

 

I really don't want to anyone to think the whole LD sector is rotten mate as that simply isn't the case. There is some fantastic work done by organisations that are public, charitable and private.

 

There are some shite services out there and they are run by private companies, charities and the NHS. The NHS isn't the beacon it should be when it comes to LD services or MH for that matter.

 

The trouble is no so much profit but greed in my opinion. There are small private organisations out there that pay half decent money to direct care staff and are happy enough making tens of thousands a year in profits. But that is never enough for the larger private companies, tens needs to be hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands needs to be millions etc.

 

Private companies should be able to provide a very small minority stake in the LD field, the trouble is private companies show us time and again they just can't be fucking trusted.

 

I'd ban any profit making organisation from running LD and MH services but I'd also sort out the NHS ran ones too.

 

Having worked in organisations ran by all 3 if I had to place a family member in a service I'd go for charity ran every single time.

[Champ]

I really don't want to anyone to think the whole LD sector is rotten mate as that simply isn't the case. There is some fantastic work done by organisations that are public, charitable and private.

 

There are some shite services out there and they are run by private companies, charities and the NHS. The NHS isn't the beacon it should be when it comes to LD services or MH for that matter.

 

The trouble is no so much profit but greed in my opinion. There are small private organisations out there that pay half decent money to direct care staff and are happy enough making tens of thousands a year in profits. But that is never enough for the larger private companies, tens needs to be hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands needs to be millions etc.

 

Private companies should be able to provide a very small minority stake in the LD field, the trouble is private companies show us time and again they just can't be fucking trusted.

 

I'd ban any profit making organisation from running LD and MH services but I'd also sort out the NHS ran ones too.

 

Having worked in organisations ran by all 3 if I had to place a family member in a service I'd go for charity ran every single time.

 

You didnt mention local authority run establishments. Is that because English local authorities are no longer service providers?

[Joe Le Taxi]

I wrote an ace article on this and spent ages trying to get it published, might post it in here when I get a blog set up.

[lifetime fan]

You didnt mention local authority run establishments. Is that because English local authorities are no longer service providers?

 

 

Pretty much.

[lifetime fan]

I wrote an ace article on this and spent ages trying to get it published, might post it in here when I get a blog set up.

 

 

You should do Lewis.

[Joe Le Taxi]

Any normal person can observe something they find wrong however it takes character to take a stand and fight for what you believe in. This can range from setting up a charity to running for Prime Minister but this is something different.

 

Many of you will remember the Panorama investigation that aired on the 31st May last year titled ‘Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed’. What followed was some of the most horrific scenes in television history that sparked controversy, outrage and brought to light the horrific scenes that the public thought unimaginable.

However this is not the first time abuse in the care home system has aired on national television. Over a decade ago, Donal Macintyre exposed Brompton Care Home in Gillingham, the result of which was that it was shut down by social services. This action was brought about after a 1999 episode of Macintyre Undercover unearthed what the TV reporter claimed was a "culture of neglect".

 

Donal Macintyre is a tireless campaigner for improved standards of care for the elderly and the learning disabled. He described his MacIntyre Undercover investigation into abuse at the Brompton Care Home in Kent as his most important investigation to date. The programme highlighted abuse and the police managed to make arrests off of five assaults in just 21 days of filming.

 

The documentary he made has helped to changed Government policy and is used as a teaching and training aid across the care home industry. He has gone on record as saying "We must have zero tolerance on care abuse. This case has had a great personal impact on me, so I'm heartened to know this victory represents a call to action!"

 

As the aftermath unfolded in public we hoped we would never see scenes like the ones in Macintyre’s documentary ever again. However, due to neglect from the CQC (Care Quality Commission), men and women who were employed to look after those who could not look after themselves, felt fit to inflict abuse some would describe as torture onto these innocent people.

 

I spoke to an employee of one care home who was witness to abuse and tried to put a stop to it as well as the whistleblower who, alongside the fantastic BBC Panorama team helped bring to light the unforgivable acts committed by these workers. These two men could have turned a blind eye to the attacks like some employees or even left their job, but instead they contacted Joe Casey, who filmed secretly at Winterbourne View whilst working as a care assistant, and as a result he was named Young Journalist of the Year. Furthermore, the program that was made by using his footage was awarded the Scoop of the Year and Current Affairs, Home programme of the year.

 

The governing body of care homes across the country is called the CQC. They undertake many important duties such as the inspections of every care home as well as listening to complaints from both staff members and either the patients or families of patients. They are the body who are there to protect the patients but in the aftermath of the Panorama episode, the CQC admitted that on many occasions, they failed to process the information given to them by the two members of staff I spoke to.

 

The following was recorded on Wednesday 12th May 2010, and is an account of one of the first instances that the source realised the staff were heavy handed towards the patients. “Today I have been supporting a young gentleman, I find him a real character. However at one point this morning whilst walking down a corridor I notice he’d spat in the vague direction of a member of cleaning staff. Later in the morning I reported this to Wayne and his response disturbed me “He should have gone for that”. In my mind he was referring to a floor restraint. There was no display of aggression and the ‘incident’ was over to me, why the need to restrain him on the floor?”

 

This incident happened not long after his arrival and within the first day, he already felt uncomfortable with how things were run in Winterbourne. A note, estimated to be four years old was stuck on the notice board in the care home, written by an inspector from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) stating that when the Inspector spoke with the patients they complained of unnecessary restraint and of staff enjoying it. This was stuck, like a trophy for all to see so questions have to be raised about the competency of the CQC and their inspectors. It is worrying that something as important as this was not brought into question and more importantly, was not acted upon.

 

Another point that is continuing to be raised is the lack of proper training given to new carers, especially on subjects such as physical intervention. An account written about the aspects of physical intervention training states that: “I am concerned with the lack of detail the course instructor covers with topics such as legal aspects in relation to P.I. (physical intervention), when P.I. is and isn’t necessary and the causes of challenging behaviour and what we as staff teams can do to prevent challenging behaviour and therefore the need for P.I”. In response to this, the course instructor remarked “99% of challenging behaviour is an attempt to communicate, the other 1% are just evil bastards”.

 

This shocking and appalling behaviour further shows how deep the problem was in the care home industry and with an instructor who behaves like the above, it is no wonder that certain carers went down that path. His actions do not act as an excuse for the violence displayed towards the patients but to understand how this started, all the answers lead back to the government and more specifically, the Care Quality commission. This is arguably the consequence when the government lets the companies involved make profits and the CQC then failing to properly regulate them.

 

The company who controlled Winterbourne View as well as many other care homes, Castlebeck are just as complicit as the CQC. In an internal investigation by the CQC they found Castlebeck guilty of misleading them by not informing them of incidents. However, my source has recounted many times when both he and his colleague tried to contact both the CQC and superiors at Castlebeck but to no avail. It is in their opinion that CQC officials were just as misleading as Castlebeck were.

 

On one occasion, a man from Castlebeck, who works in a service described as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (A.S.D.)visited Winterbourne as they had a new patient with a form of autism. He later admitted to having only worked in the industry for seven months and did not have a qualification in the area, yet he was lauded as an expert in the subject. Such inexperience in the staff again highlights the awful dealings undertaken by Castlebeck and shows how useless the CQC was in situations like this. Furthermore, the man was also unpleasant to the new patient which further knocks his credibility.

 

In a statement released by the CQC on the 31st May they said they had indications that staff members had been both physically and verbally abusing patients and that they should have acted sooner. At no point do they mention the repeated pleas to intervene given to them by the members of staff who were shocked and appalled at what their colleagues were doing. In response, the CQC said in their statement they were going to take many new actions which to their credit, they did. However, much of this could have been avoided if the pleas of staff members were listened to sooner.

 

Due to the numerous atrocities committed both in Winterbourne and in care homes throughout the UK, there is now a widely held opinion we have failed a generation of service users . A parliamentary publication shows that 86 inspection reports have been published so far. These reports have found poor practice in some of the units. Moreover, frequent areas of concerns include limited person-centred care, limited appropriate activities and a lack of monitoring and learning from incidents of restraint. Those who I have spoken to say some patients suffered this level of abuse for up to three years and that the CQC failed to respond to any of the early allegations until they were put under pressure to respond in the wake of the Panorama episode being aired. One source recounts how he was turned to the BBC after being demoralised with the attitude by the CQC in responding to his allegations. “After a few conversations, it was suggested that I telephone the CQC one last time to check that it had received my allegation, which I did in December 2010. Indeed, it had been received, but the person appointed to deal with it was on holiday. Exasperated, the BBC and I discussed the next step.”

 

However he also feels that the CQC cannot be blamed for everything “The CQC cannot be everywhere to monitor. Anyone who has a loved one in one of these services has to rely on strong local management and whistleblowers to be taken seriously in order to weed out the bad apples quickly and not let anything develop to the monstrous degree that was seen on Panorama that night almost a year ago.

 

The bottom line is that it is the large institutions themselves that contribute to the potential of abuse. Large groups, managed in archaic ways, often by amateurs, dithering and procrastinating whilst their services burn all around them. The only answer is to get rid of these institutions and replace them with individual personalised supported living arrangements, with individual budgets. This has been talked about for years, but no-one seems to be able to develop it. Until someone does, we run the risk of another scandal before too long and it will mean that we have failed yet another generation of service users.”

 

In court, many former staff members of Winterbourne have pleaded guilty to many charges of ill treatment. However, many people argue that members of the CQC are just as complicit and should be facing charges. Only time will tell if those who do have a duty to protect patients will face punishment for their part in letting the situation at Winterbourne get dreadfully out of hand.

[Sandford]

A good read that.

 

Very enlightening.

[Trucker Paddy]

that the first time you've read this thread mate?

 

Since the early days yeah

[lifetime fan]

The next programme won't show anything like that level of abuse.

 

It's even more depressing to me though.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Unfortunately you get bastards in every walk of life mate. If they are then employed in such jobs where care and attention is needed they just can't be arsed, to them it is just a job and a means to make money rather than looking after the vulnerable. They really are the scum of society and thankfully a minority of those who work in this branch and do a damn good job for a pittance.

[lifetime fan]

Imagine if you were the manager of a hospital such as this one (just for arguments sake you understand!), you knew abuse was going on and did nothing about it. In fact you told someone who'd continually complained to you you would take it to the local Safeguarding panel, but you didn't. You did fuck all about it again.

 

Imagine if you weren't shown on the first Panorama, you might be still applying for jobs managing other hospitals. Theoretically of course.

 

But then imagine if someone had a recording of themselves making complaints to you and the BBC were going to broadcast it.

 

Now if any of that were to have happened do you think the manager might be shitting himself now...

 

 

Looks like my recording will be cut in the final edit.

[Joe Le Taxi]

How come?

[lifetime fan]

So much to show in 30 minutes. They can nail Jim fairly quickly and spend more time addressing other areas of failing. Like his superiors and the company as a whole.

[Champ]

30 minutes just doesn't do it justice, does it?

[lifetime fan]

The sentencing hearing starts today and sentences should be announced by the end of the week.

[lifetime fan]

Winterbourne View: Earlier abuse at hospital found

 

The family of a man who was punched in the face as a patient at a private hospital in Bristol is calling for the incident to be re-investigated.

 

Eleven care workers are to be sentenced later for the maltreatment and neglect of five patients at Winterbourne View.

 

But a BBC Inside Out West investigation has found evidence of alleged abuse involving different staff members.

 

Police have agreed the assault on Ben Pullar was "not acceptable" but said they would not re-open the case.

 

Mr Pullar is autistic and bi-polar, with severe learning difficulties, and when he was 18, he spent almost a year at Winterbourne View from July 2009.

 

He lost two teeth when he was punched in the face.

 

His twin, Tom, said his behaviour changed drastically after going to the hospital.

 

"He's burst out crying on me and demanded to talk about Winterbourne View - and this is two years after Winterbourne View - so it still affects him today," said the 21-year-old.

 

The BBC has seen daily care notes from his time at the hospital which state Mr Pullar "had an accident with his teeth" just weeks after he arrived.

 

His family said they were given mixed messages about what happened and were told at one point he had "bitten the floor".

 

He was taken to Bristol Dental Hospital by Winterbourne View staff as an emergency patient, and two doctors there raised the alarm with the authorities because of the severity of his injuries.

 

Senior dental consultant Dr Jane Luker said: "I think they thought the injury he sustained wasn't consistent with what they were being told.

 

"He had allegedly bitten a carer and the injuries were sustained from him biting that carer.

 

"[but] because the teeth were pushed back palatally, towards the back of the mouth, it would be consistent with a punch or a blow to the front of the face."

 

The authorities met several days after Mr Pullar was assaulted, but his family was not invited.

 

Tom Pullar said: "I think that care staff are supposed to care for patients, not punch them."

 

Notes obtained by Inside Out said the nurse was bitten and retaliated in order to remove his fingers - and later, that he had pushed and pulled to get them out.

 

The nurse involved, Maxwell Nyamukapa, was suspended and later reinstated. Despite repeated attempts to contact Mr Nyamukapa, he has refused to comment.

 

The police logged it as an assault, and said the nurse had acted instinctively and in self-defence.

 

Forty concerns were raised about patients in just over three years with the local safeguarding board run by South Gloucestershire Council.

 

The police were also contacted 29 times, nine of those times related to carers suspected of using restraint of involved in violent incidents with patients - including Mr Pullar.

 

Det Ch Supt Louisa Rolfe, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We have carried out an extensive investigation into incidents at Winterbourne View and no stone has been left unturned.

 

"We consulted with the CPS and our partners in terms of action we could take.

 

"Looking back on that incident now and understanding the whole pattern of what was happening at that residential hospital, it is clearly not acceptable.

 

"However, at the time, the officer was dealing with information, reliable information, that came from patients and carers, and that came from other experts in that field. And perhaps they relied upon that information too much."

 

She added: "We accept that there is learning for us as an organisation and we will do things differently in future."

 

Det Ch Supt Rolfe said the force had carried out an extensive investigation into incidents at the hospital and had improved how it dealt with people with learning disabilities.

 

The council has declined to comment on Mr Pullar's case.

 

Castlebeck, the hospital's owner at the time, said its new board and management had already, and would continue to, rigorously review what happened at Winterbourne View.

 

The firm said if any other matters come to light, immediate action would be taken and the appropriate authorities informed.

 

It has also referred Mr Nyamukapa twice to the Nursing & Midwifery Council, who declined to comment.

 

Inside Out West is on BBC One West at 7.30pm on Monday or for seven days after on the iPlayer.

[Champ]

This report again suggests to me that Adult Protection procedures are not as robust as those for Child Protection. Under CP procedures (in Scotland at least) the inconsistency in the account provided to the dentist should have triggered a referral to SW/Police.

 

Also, the Police response seems to be at odds with what is hoped will come out of Hillsborough...ie that passage of time should not be an argument to not pursuing an alleged crime

[lifetime fan]

This report again suggests to me that Adult Protection procedures are not as robust as those for Child Protection. Under CP procedures (in Scotland at least) the inconsistency in the account provided to the dentist should have triggered a referral to SW/Police.

 

Also, the Police response seems to be at odds with what is hoped will come out of Hillsborough...ie that passage of time should not be an argument to not pursuing an alleged crime

 

 

It was passed to police in this case. They (having spoken with staff, the CPS and others) decided not to act.

[lifetime fan]

 

 

The judge has just watched all the footage of this wanker, including scenes that were not broadcast.

 

Rogers initially denied any intention to cause pain to or hurt patients. On the third (police) interview admitted he 'overstepped the mark'.