Tuesday 31st May - Panorama.

[General Dryness]

Cheerio Jim you despicable, lying prick.

 

 

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/former-managers-winterbourne-view-hospital-248320

Played a blinder there Col.

 

Well done you.

[lifetime fan]

It achieved so little mate...it’s honestly fucking terrifying how little things have changed.

 

This is going on day in, day out, up and down the country.

 

 

The current ongoing investigation they want to try and come to air made me physically sick, and that’s after having witnessed everything else...

[General Dryness]

Shit, thats no good.

[lifetime fan]

 

[lifetime fan]

 

3:30 in...

 

 

[lifetime fan]

 

[lifetime fan]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47749025

[Oh Buoy]

39 minutes ago, lifetime fan said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47749025

 

What a bullshit article.

[lifetime fan]

5 hours ago, Spring said:

 

What a bullshit article.

 

In what way? 

[Oh Buoy]

4 hours ago, lifetime fan said:

 

In what way? 

 

It's a loaded article that presents one side of the story. I'll give you some examples.

 

Quote

 

Jane's daughter was admitted to an Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) at 19, after struggling with anorexia and other mental health issues.

These secure units treat vulnerable young people who are deemed to be a danger to themselves.

Patients are supposed to be admitted for nine to 18 months, but the average stay is more than five years.

Ayla has spent the past seven years as an inpatient and is currently living in Northamptonshire, more than 200 miles away from her home in Carmarthen.

Jane tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme it has led to desperate behaviour, including swallowing a toothbrush, which is still in her body 10 months later.

"She's got a huge bald patch on her head where her hair will never grow back, from all the head banging she's done," she says. "One of the doctors said possibly she's caused more brain damage.

"We are powerless and have to sit back and watch her suffer," says Ayla's grandmother Judy Haines. "It's torture for her and for us."

Jane says she is not critical of the place where Ayla is being treated, rather the system.

The ATU where she is staying said it was unable to provide comment on an individual case. But it said it, "works with every individual to design a package of care around them, to keep them safe and help them progress back to the community".
 

 

 

If she's been detained under the MCA then there's no timescale on that because you can't simply say PersonX will stop trying to kill themselves in 9 months. The reason this patient/client has been relocated 200 miles away because that's probably the only place that's closest and has availability. I'll agree that will decrease her mental well-being as all her support networks will be removed instantly but that's down to the government and funding of medium/high secure units.

 

Quote

 

ATUs came under scrutiny in 2011 after the BBC's Panorama exposed horrific abuse of patients at Winterbourne View.

The government promised to end their use for those capable of living in the community with proper support through a programme called Transforming Care - which cost £10m.
 

 

 

I can't go into detail about this part but those in WV are a danger to the community. The abuse that happened there is completely unacceptable and should rightfully be a marker on the system to never allow that to happen again. However the problem then occurs when if these units are no longer sustainable (the large majority are) then where do you move those detained there? They can't go back into the community because of the danger they pose.

 

Quote

 

Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap, said: "People are spending many, many years in there, they shouldn't be. Awful things are happening to people in there and they shouldn't be.

"And in the same way asylums were closed, these places need to be closed and people need to be supported in the community."

NHS figures show an increase in staff resorting to medication, seclusion and even restraint when dealing with patients. Of the 2,500 incidents reported in December last year alone, 800 were against children under the age of 18.
 

 

 

What a dangerous message to put of there from Mencap. It's presented in a way that these secure units nothing but horrific but it's quite the opposite. If they could be easily integrated into the community, they would - it's better for them, their families and everyone involved. They're placed in secure units because they need to be managed. Yes, some of those detained will experience the use of restraint or seclusion but these are often the last methods considered to manage someone who say is going around trying to stab others.

 

I'll leave you with one last one;

 

Quote

 

Labour's shadow care minister, Barbara Keeley, said the government was allowing private companies to make millions, because the ATUs cost five times the amount of a community placement.
 

 

 

Community placements actually cost more and ATU are not five times as much.

 

So, just to summarise, the article could have been presented clearer if both sides of the picture were presented here. Ultimately, it comes down to a government funding issue and the reason why people are detained under the MCA. There have been horrific cases that have changed the way care is managed and especially how serious cases are investigated but again, not every unit is just an asylum of abuse. The BBC could have approached this better but instead painted a dark picture. A very poor article really.

[lifetime fan]

12 hours ago, Spring said:

 

It's a loaded article that presents one side of the story. I'll give you some examples.

 

 

If she's been detained under the MCA then there's no timescale on that because you can't simply say PersonX will stop trying to kill themselves in 9 months. The reason this patient/client has been relocated 200 miles away because that's probably the only place that's closest and has availability. I'll agree that will decrease her mental well-being as all her support networks will be removed instantly but that's down to the government and funding of medium/high secure units.

 

 

I can't go into detail about this part but those in WV are a danger to the community. The abuse that happened there is completely unacceptable and should rightfully be a marker on the system to never allow that to happen again. However the problem then occurs when if these units are no longer sustainable (the large majority are) then where do you move those detained there? They can't go back into the community because of the danger they pose.

 

 

What a dangerous message to put of there from Mencap. It's presented in a way that these secure units nothing but horrific but it's quite the opposite. If they could be easily integrated into the community, they would - it's better for them, their families and everyone involved. They're placed in secure units because they need to be managed. Yes, some of those detained will experience the use of restraint or seclusion but these are often the last methods considered to manage someone who say is going around trying to stab others.

 

I'll leave you with one last one;

 

 

Community placements actually cost more and ATU are not five times as much.

 

So, just to summarise, the article could have been presented clearer if both sides of the picture were presented here. Ultimately, it comes down to a government funding issue and the reason why people are detained under the MCA. There have been horrific cases that have changed the way care is managed and especially how serious cases are investigated but again, not every unit is just an asylum of abuse. The BBC could have approached this better but instead painted a dark picture. A very poor article really.

 

 

That’s absolute bollocks. 

[Oh Buoy]

1 hour ago, lifetime fan said:

 

 

That’s absolute bollocks. 

 

Why?

[lifetime fan]

44 minutes ago, Spring said:

 

Why?

 

I can't go into detail about this part but those in WV are a danger to the community. The abuse that happened there is completely unacceptable and should rightfully be a marker on the system to never allow that to happen again. However the problem then occurs when if these units are no longer sustainable (the large majority are) then where do you move those detained there? They can't go back into the community because of the danger they pose.

 

 

What detail could you go into? 

 

What detail do you know about anyone that was in WV? 

[Oh Buoy]

17 hours ago, lifetime fan said:

 

I can't go into detail about this part but those in WV are a danger to the community. The abuse that happened there is completely unacceptable and should rightfully be a marker on the system to never allow that to happen again. However the problem then occurs when if these units are no longer sustainable (the large majority are) then where do you move those detained there? They can't go back into the community because of the danger they pose.

 

 

What detail could you go into? 

 

What detail do you know about anyone that was in WV? 

 

Why do you think people are put in ATUs?

[Rico1304]

Who’s going to tell him? 

[lifetime fan]

I’ll let you. 

[Oh Buoy]

7 minutes ago, lifetime fan said:

I’ll let you. 

 

No need, I've just read through the initial pages.

[lifetime fan]

People with learning disabilities 'trapped' in hospitals as target missed.

 

 

An NHS target to reduce the number of people with learning disabilities being treated in long-stay hospitals has been missed, resulting in more than 2,200 remaining in-patients in England.

Charities say they are at risk of abuse and neglect in hospital units and should be cared for in homes in the community, close to their families.

NHS England committed to halving the numbers in hospitals, but achieved 19%.

It said it was investing in community care to help hundreds more people.

Figures for March show that there are at least 2,260 people with learning disabilities or autism staying in hospitals in England - most for around two years, with half being kept in secure wards.

The NHS target was to reduce numbers to 1,300-1,700 by now - from 2,805 in 2016.

The commitment was a response to the abuse scandal exposed by the BBC at Winterbourne View specialist hospital near Bristol in 2012, when six care workers were jailed for abusing patients. 

• 'She was so desperate, she swallowed toothbrush'
• Restraint of disabled patients rising
• Concerns over learning disability deaths

NHS England said it was committed to supporting people with a learning disability or autism, and more than 650 people who had been in hospital for more than five years were now being supported in their communities.

It said parts of the country were hitting their targets, helping people to live more independently, closer to home.

But charity Mencap said "hundreds of people with a learning disability who should have been living in the community are still trapped in in-patient settings".

The charity said families were often powerless to get them out and people could be locked up for years on end, instead of being supported in their communities.

'Human rights scandal'

Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap, said: "This is a domestic human rights scandal.

"We want government to prioritise social care reform and demand that the NHS and local authorities work together to reunite families and develop the right support across social care, health and education for children and adults with a learning disability in their communities." 

Children with learning disabilities are also sent to these hospitals, known as assessment and treatment units (ATUs) - and there were 240 patients under 18 being treated in these units last month. 

This is an increase from 110 in March 2015, although there have been fluctuations in numbers.

Image captionCaroline's son Philip stayed in a special unit hundreds of miles from home for nearly two years

'Kept like an animal in a cage'

Caroline Corfield's son Philip is 21 and has severe autism, learning difficulties and epilepsy. 

From 2015 to 2018, he lived in several different care homes and ATUs - the most recent one in Hull, more than 200 miles from his home in Croydon. Philip stayed there for 22 months.

Caroline said the first time she visited him was the worst.

"He was being kept like an animal in a cage - he was in a seclusion room where he was being fed through a hatch." 

She was shocked by the fact his carers told her they were only spending two to three minutes interacting with him at a time.

"I felt like he was slipping away because the longer you leave him the harder it is to reintegrate him into society." 

In 2018, he started getting support in the community and is now living in his own home close to his family.

Caroline says her son is much happier and more affectionate now. 

"I can just walk into the house and see him and Philip can just give me a big hug. 

This is a contrast to his time spent in a secure unit, she says.

"I didn't feel like my opinions were being taken into account and I didn't feel like they were putting anything in place to make things better for him."

 

 

 

[lifetime fan]

9 minutes in. 

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00047jd/bbc-news-at-ten-18042019

[lifetime fan]

Keep Monday 22nd May 9pm free. 

[lifetime fan]

Four Seasons Health Care facing administration

 

One of Britain's largest care home groups, Four Seasons Health Care, is on the brink of administration. 

Two of the holding companies behind the firm are expected to appoint administrators on Tuesday after struggling to repay their debts.

The group serves about 17,000 residents and patients and employs some 20,000 staff.

If it goes under, it would not affect care arrangements or lead to the closure of homes.

According to Sky News, which first reported the news, it would be the biggest collapse of a care homes business since Southern Cross in 2011.

• Care home operator to withdraw services
• Brexit: Hospital suppliers stockpiling food

Four Seasons Health Care said it would issue a statement later on Tuesday. 

Professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has been chosen to handle the administration. 

It is understood that while the holding companies - Elli Finance (UK) and Elli Investments - are on the brink of collapse, the care homes business itself is not. 

Administrators will seek to sell the group in the coming months, freeing it of its historic debts.

Four Seasons, which has 253 residential and nursing care homes, has been struggling to restructure its debt pile of more than £500m. 

Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm led by Guy Hands, has owned Four Seasons since 2012. 

But it is no longer in control of the business, as a large amount of its debt is being held by US hedge fund H/2 Capital Partners.

A number of care businesses have run into trouble recently, raising questions about the current funding model for social care.

Last year, Allied Healthcare, which supports 13,000 people, said it was struggling with debts, blaming low fees paid by councils. 

The Care Quality Commission, a regulator, later issued a notice saying it had serious doubts about the firm's future.

A majority of Four Seasons' operations are funded by the state, with about a fifth of them funded privately.

 

[lifetime fan]

There’s no place for profit when it comes to looking after the most vulnerable people in society. 

[Anubis]

1 hour ago, lifetime fan said:

There’s no place for profit when it comes to looking after the most vulnerable people in society. 

It’s ridiculous that the article says they are blaming low fees from councils, when a lot of councils are being cut to the bone by central government.  The reality is that care homes should be properly funded by central government instead of placing them in the hands of private companies that exist to make a profit.

[lifetime fan]

Wednesday 22nd May 9pm. 

 

Panorama goes undercover inside a hospital for vulnerable adults and reveals patients being mocked, taunted and intimidated by abusive staff. Olivia Davies reports.

[lifetime fan]