Oh, ffs, I'm in pieces here... That was posibly the most upsetting thing I've ever seen.
That said; I can see why the few good members of staff (if there were any...) didn't say anything. If a complaint had gone all the way to the top without answer then I can understand there would be a reticence to act. On top of that there would be the fear of having to leave their job and not necesssarily have another to go to. They were probably afraid and a little relieved not to have the attention and abuse turned on them.
I'm not trying to defend the silence of anyone who knew about this abuse, but just trying to offer a suggestion as to why the abuse was allowed to continue.
Alo, those of you saying the police should have been called in sooner, I don't know enough about these things, but is it possible they needed proof, such as the video footage Joe managed to get? I'm not an expert on abuse or adults with learning difficulties by a long shot, but I've had a basic safeguarding course as part of a summer job wrking with children, and remember how difficult anything surrounding disclosure of abuse or similar things was. You can't say anything that might be perceived as a leading statement if a vulnerable person says something to you. Likewise, you are told to escalate any concerns to your line manager or another person higher than yourself, but if they're the ones causing the concerns then where do you go?
I feel absolutely awful for the patients, and also for their families, and for the staff members who were innocent of the abuse, even if they weren't strong/brave enough to say anything.
Sorry, that was a bit of an essay with very little factual basis, but I feel really affected by that documentary and am appalled that it has been allowed to happen.