Two days on and I am still really disturbed by this week’s Panorama programme on BBC 1 on care homes. The programme secretly filmed the tragic abuse taking place at Winterbourne View in Bristol. It was graphically shocking, distressing and unbelievable.
The programme follows the release of a damning report by the Care Quality Commission on the state of care provided in some hospitals for the elderly, where doctors were said to be prescribing drinking water to patients.
What has happened to the “care” profession in the UK? How has bullying, abuse and neglect become common place? How in 2011, can a place like Winterbourne View exist?
The answers for many of my questions lie with the failure of the management and regulating bodies, that are meant to supervise and govern these institutions. As with Winterbourne, a senior nurse complained about the terrible aggressive treatment, described as torture, that patients were facing. He took it to the Trust that owns the unit and got no response. He then took his complaints to the regulating body, Care Quality Commission, who disgustingly, failed to act.
It is now a year after this nurse’s initial complaint and following a BBC programme, have the regulators, police and even the owners started to pay attention and take action.
What was evident was that those in care do not have a voice and often even if they do speak up cannot be heard. They need to be protected. We may say what happened to the families? Why don’t they know? As highlighted by this programme, the families are told everything is ok? Those in care are unable to communicate what is going on. They live in fear and torture. One mother explained how her daughter did try and tell but she did not believe her because she couldn’t believe that something like this was happening and her daughter had a vivid imagination.
It begs to reason that no matter what history a person has, when it comes down to their care, it is always important to make checks, spot checks, listen to complaints and be really involved in the care home. If this mother had listened to her daughter she would have saved her daughter and 20 other patients from months of daily physical and mental abuse.
This programme has led to 4 members of the staff being arrested with others pending further investigation and the government has requested a public inquiry into care.
Bunty
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