jolfc
01-06-2011, 04:12
Firstly I have had to wait until now before I could write this thread as the programme left me upset and fuming mad that this is allowed to happen. I have copied and pasted an article on what the programme was about. See below, I do not know how to post a link of the video, but I am sure it will be on the iplayer if anyone is intrested, but it really is sickening and upsetting to watch
Police in Bristol have arrested four people after secret filming by BBC Panorama found a pattern of serious abuse at a residential hospital.
Winterbourne View treats people with learning disabilities and autism.
Andrew McDonnell, a leading expert in working with adults with mental disabilities, labelled some of the examples captured on film "torture".
The hospital's owners, Castlebeck, have apologised unreservedly and suspended 13 employees.
Avon and Somerset police confirmed that three men and one woman had been arrested as part of their ongoing investigation into the hospital.
During five weeks spent filming undercover, Panorama's reporter captured footage of some of the hospital's most vulnerable patients being repeatedly pinned down, slapped, dragged into showers while fully clothed, taunted and teased.
Patients punished
The hospital is a privately owned, purpose-built, 24-bed facility and is taxpayer-funded.
Mr McDonnell, a clinical psychologist who viewed the footage, told the programme that basic techniques for dealing with patients with challenging behaviour were ignored.
He said he was shocked by the treatment of vulnerable patients at the hands of those charged with their care.
After seeing footage of an 18-year-old patient named Simone being verbally abused and doused with cold water while fully clothed as a punishment, he said: "This is not a jail...people are not here to be punished.
"This is a therapeutic environment. Where's the therapy in any of this? I would argue this is torture."
Simone's parents told the programme that she had told them she was being abused at the hospital, but they had assured her that it would not be allowed to happen.
"She told us, that she had been hit, her hair had been pulled and she'd been kicked - and I said no, this wouldn't happen, they're not allowed," said the patient's mother.
Professor Jim Mansell, from the University of Kent, is a government advisor on the use of physical restraint for those with developmental disabilities.
He said from the Panorama footage it appeared staff were "waiting to pounce on people and restrain them".
"This is the worst kind of institutional care. It is the kind of thing that was prevalent at the end of the 60s and that led Britain to gradually close the large, long-stay institutions," he added.
Warnings ignored
The programme decided to secretly film after being approached by a former senior nurse at the hospital who was deeply concerned about the behaviour of some of the support workers caring for patients.
Secret filming caught patients being dragged and slapped by support workers "I have seen a lot over 35 years but this I have never seen anything like this. It is the worst I have seen," Mr Bryan told the programme.
"These are all peoples' sons, daughters, parents, aunties, uncles. These are all people who have got families… the families themselves do not know what goes on there."
Mr Bryan reported his concerns to both management at Winterbourne View and to the government regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), but his complaint was not taken up.
Ian Biggs, regional direction of the CQC for the southwest, said an opportunity to prevent abuse was missed when Mr Bryan's complaints were not investigated.
"Had we acted at that time, as we have done now, we can act very quickly to cease that kind of treatment.
"We missed that chance and we are sorry for that and we're doing everything we can now to make sure we're responding properly."
The Care Quality Commission also said in a statement: "Following an internal review, we recognise that there were indications of problems at this hospital which should have led to us taking action sooner.
"We apologise to those who have been let down by our failure to act more swiftly to address the appalling treatment that people at this hospital were subjected to."
'Ashamed'
Winterbourne View's owners, Castlebeck, have launched an internal investigation into their whistle-blower procedures and are reviewing the records of all of their 580 patients in 56 facilities.
The vulnerable patients filmed by Panorama have been moved to safety and the police notified.
The hospital charges taxpayers an average of £3,500 per patient per week and Castlebeck has an annual turnover of £90m.
Chief executive Lee Reed told the programme he was "ashamed" by what had happened.
"All I can do is unreservedly apologise to both the families and the vulnerable adults that have been involved in this and recommit to making sure this doesn't happen again," he said.
Panorama reporter Joe Casey said he was shocked by what he witnessed.
"On a near-daily basis, I watched as some of the very people entrusted with the care of society's most vulnerable targeted patients - often, it seemed, for their own amusement. They are scenes of torment that are not easily forgotten," he said.
Dr Peter Carter, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "The sickening abuse revealed in this programme is more shocking than anything we could have imagined."
The RCN said there had been "failure" on the part of the CQC, and that the government should examine the training and regulation of healthcare assistants, as "it cannot be right that there are no national standards for those caring for vulnerable patients".
The thing that is most amazing to me is the Care Quality Commission were told 3 times by the nurse about the abuse and did nothing to investigate, absoloutley disgraceful. The carers or should I call them bullies deserve to go to prison for what they put those people through, and the Panorama footage is only of a 5 week period, how many more suffered this torture? Castlebeck also share the blame in this as they too were told of this nurses concerns and did nothing, but when they are making that kind of money they would not have wanted anything to rock the boat. As hard as the Panorama programme was to watch and had me in tears seeing these people being treated this way it had to be shown as there is more than likely many homes for elderly, vulnerable people where this goes on and hopefully it will help it be reported and the appropriate authourities will dig deeper when they get a complaint and not just sweep it under the carpet as the CQC did in this case. The 2 people highlighted in this programme were Simon, who is now back at home with his mother and Simone who is now in another home to live and is very much enjoying it , thank the lord.
Police in Bristol have arrested four people after secret filming by BBC Panorama found a pattern of serious abuse at a residential hospital.
Winterbourne View treats people with learning disabilities and autism.
Andrew McDonnell, a leading expert in working with adults with mental disabilities, labelled some of the examples captured on film "torture".
The hospital's owners, Castlebeck, have apologised unreservedly and suspended 13 employees.
Avon and Somerset police confirmed that three men and one woman had been arrested as part of their ongoing investigation into the hospital.
During five weeks spent filming undercover, Panorama's reporter captured footage of some of the hospital's most vulnerable patients being repeatedly pinned down, slapped, dragged into showers while fully clothed, taunted and teased.
Patients punished
The hospital is a privately owned, purpose-built, 24-bed facility and is taxpayer-funded.
Mr McDonnell, a clinical psychologist who viewed the footage, told the programme that basic techniques for dealing with patients with challenging behaviour were ignored.
He said he was shocked by the treatment of vulnerable patients at the hands of those charged with their care.
After seeing footage of an 18-year-old patient named Simone being verbally abused and doused with cold water while fully clothed as a punishment, he said: "This is not a jail...people are not here to be punished.
"This is a therapeutic environment. Where's the therapy in any of this? I would argue this is torture."
Simone's parents told the programme that she had told them she was being abused at the hospital, but they had assured her that it would not be allowed to happen.
"She told us, that she had been hit, her hair had been pulled and she'd been kicked - and I said no, this wouldn't happen, they're not allowed," said the patient's mother.
Professor Jim Mansell, from the University of Kent, is a government advisor on the use of physical restraint for those with developmental disabilities.
He said from the Panorama footage it appeared staff were "waiting to pounce on people and restrain them".
"This is the worst kind of institutional care. It is the kind of thing that was prevalent at the end of the 60s and that led Britain to gradually close the large, long-stay institutions," he added.
Warnings ignored
The programme decided to secretly film after being approached by a former senior nurse at the hospital who was deeply concerned about the behaviour of some of the support workers caring for patients.
Secret filming caught patients being dragged and slapped by support workers "I have seen a lot over 35 years but this I have never seen anything like this. It is the worst I have seen," Mr Bryan told the programme.
"These are all peoples' sons, daughters, parents, aunties, uncles. These are all people who have got families… the families themselves do not know what goes on there."
Mr Bryan reported his concerns to both management at Winterbourne View and to the government regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), but his complaint was not taken up.
Ian Biggs, regional direction of the CQC for the southwest, said an opportunity to prevent abuse was missed when Mr Bryan's complaints were not investigated.
"Had we acted at that time, as we have done now, we can act very quickly to cease that kind of treatment.
"We missed that chance and we are sorry for that and we're doing everything we can now to make sure we're responding properly."
The Care Quality Commission also said in a statement: "Following an internal review, we recognise that there were indications of problems at this hospital which should have led to us taking action sooner.
"We apologise to those who have been let down by our failure to act more swiftly to address the appalling treatment that people at this hospital were subjected to."
'Ashamed'
Winterbourne View's owners, Castlebeck, have launched an internal investigation into their whistle-blower procedures and are reviewing the records of all of their 580 patients in 56 facilities.
The vulnerable patients filmed by Panorama have been moved to safety and the police notified.
The hospital charges taxpayers an average of £3,500 per patient per week and Castlebeck has an annual turnover of £90m.
Chief executive Lee Reed told the programme he was "ashamed" by what had happened.
"All I can do is unreservedly apologise to both the families and the vulnerable adults that have been involved in this and recommit to making sure this doesn't happen again," he said.
Panorama reporter Joe Casey said he was shocked by what he witnessed.
"On a near-daily basis, I watched as some of the very people entrusted with the care of society's most vulnerable targeted patients - often, it seemed, for their own amusement. They are scenes of torment that are not easily forgotten," he said.
Dr Peter Carter, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "The sickening abuse revealed in this programme is more shocking than anything we could have imagined."
The RCN said there had been "failure" on the part of the CQC, and that the government should examine the training and regulation of healthcare assistants, as "it cannot be right that there are no national standards for those caring for vulnerable patients".
The thing that is most amazing to me is the Care Quality Commission were told 3 times by the nurse about the abuse and did nothing to investigate, absoloutley disgraceful. The carers or should I call them bullies deserve to go to prison for what they put those people through, and the Panorama footage is only of a 5 week period, how many more suffered this torture? Castlebeck also share the blame in this as they too were told of this nurses concerns and did nothing, but when they are making that kind of money they would not have wanted anything to rock the boat. As hard as the Panorama programme was to watch and had me in tears seeing these people being treated this way it had to be shown as there is more than likely many homes for elderly, vulnerable people where this goes on and hopefully it will help it be reported and the appropriate authourities will dig deeper when they get a complaint and not just sweep it under the carpet as the CQC did in this case. The 2 people highlighted in this programme were Simon, who is now back at home with his mother and Simone who is now in another home to live and is very much enjoying it , thank the lord.