Medical Law Expert Comments On Latest Report

A medical lawyer at Irwin Mitchell has criticised “simply unacceptable” findings from the Care Quality Commission which have suggested only one in five hospitals and cares for those with learning disabilities are meeting recognised standards.

The latest report from the regulator has revealed that just for out of 20 NHS or private-run sites are meeting standards for care, welfare and safeguarding.

Concerns were specifically raised about Walkern Lodge in Stevenage, where proper logs were not kept in relation to the restraint of patients, as well as Bloomfield Court and 5,6 Ivy Mews in London.

Irwin Mitchell’s medical law and patients’ rights team, which specialises in helping the families of victims who have suffered abuse and neglect in care homes and hospitals, have called for an urgent response to the findings.

Jonathan Peacock, a Partner in the specialist team, has vast experience in the area, notably representing the family of Leslie Vines in their claim over his treatment at the Maypole Nursing Home in Birmingham.

Discussing the findings, he said: “The conclusions in this new report come as no surprise to me. They demonstrate standards which, in too many cases, are simply unacceptable, but I have worked on cases highlighting exactly these issues going back ten years or more.

“Anyone placed in the care of a home or hospital deserves to receive the best possible treatment, support and attention, but the suggestion that just one in five institutions are actually meeting official guidelines shows that often this is simply not the case.

“We would urge the Care Quality Commission and the government to work urgently to address the very serious concerns raised and ensure that the families of all of those in care can be given reassurances that the needs of their loved ones are being met.

“A fundamental aspect of this will be guaranteeing that recruitment training standards for all staff in homes and hospitals is improved, including better guidance on the use of restraint. The aim must be to ensure anyone working in such sites is equipped with the necessary skills to offer the best possible standard of care.

“These problems have been ignored and allowed to continue for too long and lessons must be learned which, in turn, should lead to overall improvements in patient safety.”