Castlebeck Abuse Case Study
Serious failures to protect individuals from abuse.
Castlebeck abuse failings
A care establishment called winterbourne view was owned by castlebeck care ltd in bristol.
The establishment was closed down on 24th june 2011 due to systemic failures to protect people.
BBC's panorama filmed patients being pinned down, slapped, doused in cold water, and repeatedly taunted and teased despite warnings by the whistleblower. A senior nurse had alerted the care homes management and the CQC on several occasions but it wasn't followed up.
This was a severe failure in human rights and a very bad case of physical, emotional, and institutional abuse and neglect.
Eventually action was taken with the help of panorama and the footage they filmed an investigation …show more content…
took place. It was discovered that members of staff had no previous care background and had received no training. Care plans were not followed and risk assessments were not in place.
Management had failed to report injuries to patients ,which it is their legal duty to report all serious incidents to the CQC.
They did not investigate complaints to identify and prevent abuse , they just turned a blind eye.
At the end of the investigation 10 members of staff were charged with ill treatment and neglect offences under the mental health act and the home closed .
It caused shock and outrage across the country when the images were aired by panorama in a special documentary to highlight the case and show what can happen behind closed doors.
(research ref: www.nursingtimes.net)
The longcare scandal
Longcare was owned by Gordon Rowe and his wife. Gordon Rowe was an ex social worker and had worked in the care system all his life, from a psychiatric nurse at broadmoor, to social worker, to a care home owner. No one expected him to abuse the people he was paid to care for. In 1994 a leaked council report revealed that for 10 years , Gordon
Rowe had been beating, raping, and ill treating the adults with learning disabilities in the residential homes run by his company,
Longcare.
He had run his company for years avoiding inspections but when the council sent in undercover investigators the truth emerged.
There was a lot of evidence produced about the abuse and those responsible were charged and
convicted.
The boss, Gordon Rowe killed himself hours before being charged leaving many questions unanswered.
Why did the staff not speak up sooner?
There was infact a very high turnover of staff, as most 'trained' care workers walked out of their jobs immediately once they realised what longcare was like. So most of the staff involved were less qualified and desperate for work.
This enabled Rowe to reinforce negative preconceptions of people with learning disabilities onto the inexperienced staff and convince them that his way was how it was done and that violent techniques were acceptable practice.
It was only strong willed members of staff who knew it was wrong and could see through his controlling behaviour that it was all revealed .
This small group of staff made complaints and thats why the local authority stepped in to investigate.
The most important thing to anyone working, or visiting, or even living in a care environment is if you see anything that doesn't look right or that you don't agree with then report it.
This is why the authorities brought in the inter agencies policy and the whistleblowing act to protect the people involved and encourage people to speak out and report incidents.
(research ref:BBC.CO.UK)
Castlebeck abuse failings
A care establishment called winterbourne view was owned by castlebeck care ltd in bristol.
The establishment was closed down on 24th june 2011 due to systemic failures to protect people.
BBC's panorama filmed patients being pinned down, slapped, doused in cold water, and repeatedly taunted and teased despite warnings by the whistleblower. A senior nurse had alerted the care homes management and the CQC on several occasions but it wasn't followed up.
This was a severe failure in human rights and a very bad case of physical, emotional, and institutional abuse and neglect.
Eventually action was taken with the help of panorama and the footage they filmed an investigation …show more content…
took place. It was discovered that members of staff had no previous care background and had received no training. Care plans were not followed and risk assessments were not in place.
Management had failed to report injuries to patients ,which it is their legal duty to report all serious incidents to the CQC.
They did not investigate complaints to identify and prevent abuse , they just turned a blind eye.
At the end of the investigation 10 members of staff were charged with ill treatment and neglect offences under the mental health act and the home closed .
It caused shock and outrage across the country when the images were aired by panorama in a special documentary to highlight the case and show what can happen behind closed doors.
(research ref: www.nursingtimes.net)
The longcare scandal
Longcare was owned by Gordon Rowe and his wife. Gordon Rowe was an ex social worker and had worked in the care system all his life, from a psychiatric nurse at broadmoor, to social worker, to a care home owner. No one expected him to abuse the people he was paid to care for. In 1994 a leaked council report revealed that for 10 years , Gordon
Rowe had been beating, raping, and ill treating the adults with learning disabilities in the residential homes run by his company,
Longcare.
He had run his company for years avoiding inspections but when the council sent in undercover investigators the truth emerged.
There was a lot of evidence produced about the abuse and those responsible were charged and
convicted.
The boss, Gordon Rowe killed himself hours before being charged leaving many questions unanswered.
Why did the staff not speak up sooner?
There was infact a very high turnover of staff, as most 'trained' care workers walked out of their jobs immediately once they realised what longcare was like. So most of the staff involved were less qualified and desperate for work.
This enabled Rowe to reinforce negative preconceptions of people with learning disabilities onto the inexperienced staff and convince them that his way was how it was done and that violent techniques were acceptable practice.
It was only strong willed members of staff who knew it was wrong and could see through his controlling behaviour that it was all revealed .
This small group of staff made complaints and thats why the local authority stepped in to investigate.
The most important thing to anyone working, or visiting, or even living in a care environment is if you see anything that doesn't look right or that you don't agree with then report it.
This is why the authorities brought in the inter agencies policy and the whistleblowing act to protect the people involved and encourage people to speak out and report incidents.
(research ref:BBC.CO.UK)