Winterbourne View
A full review into the abuse suffered by patients at the Winterbourne View Care Home near Bristol will be published later, after an eleventh member of staff admitted abuse yesterday.
At Bristol Crown Court, Michael Ezenugu pleaded guilty to two charges of ill treatment under Section 127 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Ten other people – Wayne Rogers; Graham Doyle; Alison Dove; Jason Gardiner; Charlotte Cotterell; Holly Draper; Kelvin Fore; Sookalingun Appoo; Danny Brake; and Neil Ferguson – all previous employees of Winterbourne View Hospital, at Bradley Stoke, had already pleaded guilty to a total of 36 charges of ill treatment under the same Act.
A Serious Case Review was commissioned by South Gloucestershire Adult Safeguarding Board in July 2011, following the BBC Panorama documentary which unveiled the abuse going on to a national TV audience.
The independent chair of the Serious Case Review will announce her findings later today.
Detective Chief Superintendent Louisa Rolfe from Avon and Somerset police said: “I wish to acknowledge the support and patience of the victims and their families throughout our inquiry. We were shocked by the Panorama programme as many people were. The voice of the victim has been central to our investigation into this case.
“The investigation has always been about the criminal actions of eleven individuals working at Winterbourne View. The Serious Case Review which will be published tomorrow will consider all other concerns regarding this hospital.
“The eleven individuals abused the trust of victims and that of their relatives and friends. They have all pleaded guilty to criminal offences of ill treatment and neglect as detailed within the Mental Health Act.
“Had it not been for the actions of individuals who raised concerns about the neglect and cruelty suffered by the victims at Winterbourne View, this wholly unacceptable behaviour would have continued unchecked.
“We now await sentencing which will bring the criminal justice process to a final conclusion.”
A review by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of learning disability services at 150 NHS, private care and social care services found almost half were not meeting government standards.
The review was ordered after the abuse at the care home in Bradley Stoke was revealed by the BBC Panorama programme in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Bristol City Council Cabinet member in charge of care services has said the scandal would help to ensure care in the private sector would improve in future.
Glenise Morgan told Bristol24-7 that the city need not fear the part privatisation of care services for the elderly and vulnerable adults, agreed at the Cabinet meeting last week, because she could guarantee that the checks put in place would be the best in the region.
Ann – Campaign groups estimate the the numbers of elderly and mentally disabled who are abused each year numbers in the region of 250,000. There are also about 10,000 deaths a year of elderly in care homes from starvation, dehydration, over prescription of anti-psychotic drugs and from bed sores and infection caused by lack of hygiene. A further 150,000 dementia patients lie in a permanent semi-comatose state from over-prescription of anti-psychotics.
When a problem is as big as this, it is in no ones interests to pursue the hierarchy responsible. It is far better to scapegoat some "bad apple" minions and then pretend the problem has gone away.
After all, the BCC lib dems have "guaranteed" that this is not a problem so we can all rest assured and ignore it again.
We need to know who the psychiatrists were and other professional staff. The failure not to mention their names will enable them to carry on being involved with abuse elsewhere or maybe they have been involved before at other homes. These thirteen small fry charged are only minions to the hierarchy.