CQC Report Highlights Problems At Bristol Home

Lessons need to be learnt from the serious failings flagged in relation to care standards at a residential hospital where the abuse of patients was filmed as part of a Panorama investigation, a specialist at Irwin Mitchell has urged.

The Care Quality Commission has released its report into care at Winterbourne View and raised a number of concerns over the home, including the failure of managers to report serious incidents and the lack of systems in place to monitor the quality of services.

Other problems included many staff lacking the necessary training or supervision, as well as efforts not being made to identify and prevent abuse before it happened.

Jonathan Peacock, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell’s Bristol office, specialises in helping those affected by care home abuse and fought for justice on behalf of families affected by serious care problems at the notorious Maypole Nursing Home in Birmingham.

Commenting on the new report on Winterbourne View, he said: “The Care Quality Commission’s findings have highlighted failings of the utmost seriousness at Winterbourne View which simply cannot be ignored by authorities.

“Staff at care homes should always be properly training to ensure they have the necessary skills to provide the best possible care to residents, who are often some of the most vulnerable members of society.

“This shockingly appears to have not been the case at this home and looks to be the reason why workers were not able to correctly assess the needs of residents – with many sadly choosing to restrain them without thinking about other ways of dealing with situations.

"It is also unacceptable that workers failed to meet requirements in relation to the recording and reporting of problems.

“While Winterbourne View is now closed, we would urge all care home operators and staff across the UK to consider the findings from the Care Quality Commission and ensure lessons are learnt from this incident.

“Abuse and neglect cannot be allowed to happen in care homes and every effort needs to be made to ensure the same mistakes are never made again.”