Panorama - Learning Disability Hospital abuse

[BakeliteBelle]

I know it is on AIBU, but why no debate on here? Did anyone watch it?

I forced myself to watch it because one of the factors in abuse of people with learning disabilities is the fact that good people who care, stand by and do nothing because they can't bear to believe it is possible.

I cried watching it and feel so utterly distressed that as my DS reaches 18, I won't be able to care for him at home because he is too challenging, but I can't bear the thought of what might happen to him away from us...

Too, too distressing. I want those bastards to be done for torture and find out what it is to be hurt and bullied and stamped on themselves.

What the fuck are LA's funding learning disability hospitals for anyway? They were meant to have closed years ago - why on earth are private companies receiving funding to open new hospitals? It beggars belief.

I won't sleep tonight

amber, I can't imagine a situation where CCTV would be contemplated for people with special needs who are vocal, articulate and able to speak up for themselves, like yourself. That is not to say you are not vulnerable, as I know from what you say you have had many difficulties. However, why would anyone even think about putting a CCTV up for an adult with special needs who can go to the toilet/shower by themselves and lock the door? Or an adult who does not need care providers? It wouldn't make any sense at all.

I am talking about children/adults like my son who are inevitably going to have a lifetime of their privacy being invaded due to the necessity of personal care. CCTV would not get rid of abuse, but perhaps it would reduce it?

Of course, every other strategy you quite rightly call for, should be implemented as a first line of defence against predators

because people who don't use words are still people, and still think and feel, I guess? So much for me being able to use words - people don't believe us whether we do or not, alas.

Of course my son is a person...! I don't need to be told that. I love him and I am only trying to protect him from harm, that is all.

The 'people' are animals. I would also be facing a jailsentence if that was my child. I am aware the majority of carehomes etc are good but i at the same time i am not surprised this goes on. I have been informed by a solicitor friend of mine that this footage was the tip of the iceberg.

Cruel evil cunts that should be publicly hung. See how funny they find that.

zzzzzz I think you're right that Mns are an inventive, brave and courageous lot, and this is probably a slightly odd idea rather than inventive one, but if those agencies set up to monitor and quality assure such settings are so poor and they ignore the concerns of whistleblowers, does there need to be a non statutory (perhaps charitable) organisation with a membership including those cared for, carers and some transparent professionals - whose purpose would be to monitor and record concerns and work with, or if need be, apply pressure to those in positions of power to act or at the very least investigate concerns?Maybe such an organisation already exists?

The other question I would have is where is the responsibility of the regulatory body for the nurse who attempted to whistleblow - highlighting his concerns would be a requirement of fitness to practice and maintaining his registration, so why isn't the nursing and midwifery council also required to and responsible for supporting any individual who is trying to do their job and highlight poor practice and abuse?

I found the programme incredibly disturbing, especially as DD is in a residential school and I have friends with adult children with ASD who have gone into residential care.

I don't agree that all residential care like this is old fashioned and institutionalised though. I feel confident that this sort of thing doesn't occur in DD's placement because she's high-functioning and would be very vocal about it, plus I know the staff well as I see them every time I go to collect her. I visited a whole bunch of residential settings when looking for her school and I know there are many good quality placements out there.

It is harder for my friends as their adult children have MLD/SLD so they would find it harder to communicate. I know they make regular visits and calls though and they feel their children are happy there.

It seemed to me that the parents of the two key adults in the programme also visited their relatives regularly and didn't know what was going on. Presumably they would have had access to the nurse who whistleblew occassionally on visits?

I'm sure there are lots of units where this sort of behaviour doesn't occur but I fear that there are others where it may.

What about the young people and adults who don't have family visiting or units where behaviour changes for visitors?

I have had my own battle with OFSTED. They are responisible for monitoring residential care - including respite - for disabled children. If any of you have had dealings with OFSTED, this should worry you from the start. Incompetence seems to be rife.

The really frightening thing is that OFSTED do not seek the opinion of parents/carers when assessing disabled children's care settings, as they do when assessing schools. They ask the children - in many cases, non-verbal, severely disabled children - what they think of their care. All highly PC but utterly dangerous. They look at complaints made in writing to the homes, but that isn't adequate as many parents are scared to complain in case it compromises their children's care.

It seems that the only group OFSTED really consult about these places is the staff who work in them...

I have made so many complaints to them about their inspection procedures. I now get a consultation form from OFSTED which is quite obviously intended for parents of mainstream children who have been removed from their homes and put in care. Do any of you get this or is it just me because I go on at them so much?

Hi I have had problems with Ofsted too, refusing to look at issues BaketliteBelle, I've put it in my post "is this abusive".

I too feel that there appears to be a high level of incompetence although I sometimes am not sure if it is incompetence or simply avoidance because people don't care and don't want to rock the boat. I am sure that it's really hard to do the right thing within the organisational culture that exists in such organisations and I think that it's the culture that needs looking at.

Absolutely dreadful.
The most effective way to make peopel sit up and listen is to cc the letter you send them (always put concerns in writing) to other parties and/or the line managers of the person in question.

This shames them into action.

Sounds good that this has worked for you Moondog but in my LA it doesn't make much difference who you copy in.........they ignore it anyway!

I think it's custom and practice locally that if they don't like what you say.... best ignore it!

I still would copy line managers in though because if issues do go anywhere later on, they can't say you didn't bring it to their attention and avoid taking any responsibility.

Stickyfloor's recent post reminded me of this:-

Some time ago I drove a couple of young and very pleasant learning disabled young women from the local college to their residential adult home as part of my duties as a social car driver for the council.

Their residential home facility whilst really nice to look at (it was quiet, had a nice garden and self contained warden assisted apartments for young vulnerable adults to live in) was slap bang in the middle of nowhere down a track about half a mile off a country lane (no signs to indicate it was there). I remember thinking at the time, "out of sight out of mind". There is no way I would have found their residence without prior knowledge of where it was located beforehand.

I am all in favours of safeguarding vulnerable adults but it cannot be right surely that these young people who have such disabilities that they are "contained" somewhere like this.

A lot of the residential schools I visited where in remote locations. I assumed it was partly due to the cost of land - a lot of them had large grounds and leisure facilities on site.

It must be very hard for visitors though - there was literally no way of getting to some places without a car. DD's school is in a village with a train station. It's quiet enough so they're not disturbed by neighbouring buildings, but visitors can get there by train.

This issue of abuse and the failure to listen to the whistleblower was discussed on question time last night. It seems there will be a meeting and discussion around the responsibilities of not only the CQC but also the nursing and midwifery council and the GMC...........wonder if the outcome will become public and when?

It was awful the hooligans were torturing the service users, and they know that the service users will not be able to say anything. As well as having a dd with suspected ASD (who would not be able to tell me if anything bad happened to her) I used to work with adults with LD in a council run day facility, and never in my living years working in care have I witnessed such a horror and vile horrid abuse. I was . Low wages are no excuse, these are vile bullies who got the job to bully vulnerable people.

The CQC were useless, even with the damning evidence they were indifferent and had a don't care attitude, just sprouting the standard lines.

found this article, thought people may be interested in it, seems important to me that the panarama programme or the whistleblowers don't get forgotten too quickly.

www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/janet-street-porter/editoratlarge-whistleblowers-risk-all-while-the-chiefs-do-nothing-2293165.html

Good article from Janet Street Porter.

The lovely guy who blew the whistle on the nazis in Bristol has started a website for whistleblowers. I can't find it - anyone know what it is?

I remember when I was a young(er) nurse, the wonderful whistleblower Graham Pink. He really fought and fought to get better care for the elderly patients he cared for, but I wonder what happened to him.

article from 2008 partly about Graham Pink.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/12/nhs.health

I remember him too, as it wasn't far from where I used to live at the point, so lots of coverage in local paper etc.

Thanks TotalChaos! As J. Street Porter says, we should be giving these people OBE's, but instead, they are getting sacked

I remember Graham Pink too, I was undertaking my nurse training at the time and remember an interview he gave.

A whistleblowing employee has disciplinary action to look forward to if they challenge the system. I guess there are some parrallels to parents having to risk having their integrity questioned and knowing they are likely to be portrayed as problematic if they challenge practice in relation to their children.

I have been away from a computer for a week or I would have commented sooner. I forced myself to watch this program and have been unable to get horrific images of abuse/torture out of my mind. It is institutionalised abuse and I hope criminal charges are followed through vigorously.
I get angry when news items about people with learning difficulties do not hit the front pages eg the torture and murder a couple of years back of a young man with learning difficulties by a group of twenty somethings. It happens so often that people with learning disabilities are seemingly viewed by media/society as less valuable/ worthy of media attention and justice. It makes me so furious and upset. We should as individuals and a society be outraged by what happened in this hospital. It needs to be kept on front pages of papers and the whole structure of 'care' investigated.
As others have said I am apalled that such large scale institutionalised 'care' still exists.
I am not expressing myself well but until people with learning difficulties/ disabilities are viewed by society as equal/ valuable people with the same rights to a dignified life as anyone else; such abuse will continue.

I agree 2boystooloud about the way society views people with learning disabilities and I also think that this is perpetuated by government policies that devalue disabled people and agencies that do little when issues are raised, prefering to push blame onto the people who raise concerns rather than address the issues.