Panorama - Failings in care system

[WillyBumBalls]

Just wondered if anyone else is watching this.

I used to work in a care setting where the staff were not great and given all the publicity thought I'd watch this.

So scared for dd when i have gone. She is totally helpless and cannot speak :(

"The torturers then those who turned away like the senior staff. I said to dh when I watch this I see how Nazi Germany evolved; the banality of evil"

Exactly what I thought Scarlett.

I couldn't watch this. As a parent of a profoundly disabled dd it is my worst fucking nightmare. I have no idea who will care for her when we are gone.

saltyseadog and Riven - I so wish I had some profound words of comfort for you but right now, you know what, I have none and that makes me so mad and so sad

According to r4 news 5 members of staff have been arrested

I didn't watch it but how was permission daughter for the vulnerable adults to be filmed (&put on tv)? Or were they blurred?

Harriet the filming was done secretly so I assume the famillies were informed but the care home was not, the parents of the two worst affected residents were notified of the footage and shown before giving permission to show it to the public.

Salty and Riven - There are no words as to how you must be feeling right now, I know last night I was terrified, upset and angry at the thought of anything happening to DS were he may be rendered helpless to mindless thugs posing as 'carers'. I guess we just have to hope that as a result of the exposure the government and private 'care providers' may realise they need to pull their finger out and stop taking on so many unqualified and unexperienced people.

Their website contains a statement regarding the 'apparent abuse accusations' made by the whistle blower and Panorama.

I cant understand giving permission when there is suspected abuse IYSWIM. I know some families would be so unable to cope there's no option other than leave them but not all.

Care is low paid. It should be well paid and require numerous qualifications as you hold life and death power over those in your care

Completely agree Riven.

As I mentioned before I applied for a job in a care home for high dependancy dementia patients a few years back when I was 21 and had no experience, I was shocked when I asked about training and they said I would have a week before I started and would be working 12 hour shifts for minimum wage.

I left after 7 months because there was literally no support system for staff, a very high turnover rate and no training led to short staffing which in turn led to residents being treated not as nicely as they should've been.

A few weeks after I left the place was all over the papers because of several members of staff being irresponsible and neglectful inculding one staff nurse who was so drunk she could'nt read the medication she was handing out to residents

Thankfully that staff member and the manager have been sacked.

There should at minimum be ongoing training and contracts should be inforced rather than 'bank staff' who show up when they need money as well as higher pay and staff/resident support systems.

The saddest part of it all is though that surely if we think of these things the government should've already enforced them!

Totally agreed Riven, unfortunately it isn't and never will be well paid because those in charge just don't SEE the rationale behind it.

Until those who make these decisions are affected by them they will never appreciate the absolute need for good quality care which is kind, supportive and responsive to individual needs.

Thankfully, despite the shit wages, many if not most carers ARE kind and caring individuals and those witnessed last night are hopefully a minority working with an ineffectual manager in the Charge Nurse who stood by and watched.

Some years ago (about 25 yrs back) I was working as a student nurse in a unit for people with disabilities. Most of the staff were kind, supportive and cared for the residents. However, one care assistant (who I will never forget) was cruel about residents verbally.
On one occasion I was helping him take a resident to the toilet. When we got there the young resident would not sit down, Ron (the care assistant) became angry and started shouting at him "SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN", I was absolutely paralyzed with panic initially which rapidly led to anger when I witnessed Ron punch the resident in the midriff three times to "make him sit down". I told Ron that I was disgusted and wasn't going to be party to this, he shouted back at me that I was "a silly little girl wet behind the ears". I went to the nurse in charge who noted it and said it would be "taken seriously". I went off for two days thinking it was in hand but when I returned two days later so did Ron. I left the unit and went down to the Nursing Manager who DID take it seriously, I made a written statement and Ron was suspended BUT - and here's the crap thing, I was escorted off the premises "for your own safety" and reallocated to a new department and unit where I was "that girl who got Ron suspended". Later I was also "that girl who got Ron sacked" I am pleased to say.
Horrific experience for everyone and so 25 years on when I witness what I did last night I am not surprised that it still goes on. You just need the right combination of crappy people, ineffectual leadership and management and voila. Until staff feel safe whistleblowing and are supported to do so this will continue to occur.

I' saw bits I've got it taped don't know If I can bring myself to watch it
so, so cruel

I hope they get put prision I bet other inmates won't take kindly to people who have abused people with the mental age of about 3

evil, evil people

my sis is autistic and may end up in one of thowse places one day made it even harder to watch.

• those

As per Ormirian I heard that several arrests have been made, 13 (?) further suspensions and a serious "reorganisation" taking place.

The issue here is nothing to do with pay. The cost of those placements was really high. Four times that of a 24 dementia elderly care unit. It was a private contracted out NHS/Health funded institution as it was regulated by CQC rather than a Local Authority Setting and seemed to be managed by Nurses, who will be likely to be qualified to degree level (given the age of the nurse that I saw) who will be on a good wage. The workers under their direct supervision will be paid less but that doesn't excuse physical assault or emotional abuse and it shows a complete failure of management to provide a setting which is safe for these vulnerable people. I was very shocked that male carers seemed to be able to go into the female residents rooms when they liked, generally male carers will look after males and females after females. It is very well known that people with Learning Disabilities are subject to abuse and good homes will have very tight policies and procedures to minimise and protect from potential abuse. The fact that CQC were advised of the abuse and then did nothing to stop it is horrific. The legal position in this country is really clear and any suspected abuse should be investigated by the local safeguarding bodies which would include police as well as the instituion itself as well as the families and advocates of the people that have been abused. I am really shocked.

Have heard that four people have been arrested...

The Charge Nurse (if he is a qualified Nurse) needs to be up before the NMC.

Ohanotherone - I am in no way excusing that behaviour with pay and I am certanly not saying it should make any difference.

What I am saying though is that care staff generally are under paid and under valued, staff deserve to be paid and looked after better because I think that would make a lot of difference in weeding out the arseholes from the people who genuinely care.

Horrendous. Awful.

I work in Mental Health care,- I have never seen anything like they way those animals were bullying the patients last night. How can 13 people all be treating people like this?????????

Where was the qualified staff????

... and WHY did the company involved NOT have a prescreening as soon as this filming was obtained? They say on thekir website they only saw the programme last night. I would hope they had names LONG ago though so that those perpetrators were dismissed.

I was going to watch this tonight, but reading some of your comments I am not sure I will able to sit through it.

20 years ago I worked in a children's SN residential school. I am happy to say that the one time, while I was there, that a care worker lost his temper with a child and pushed the child and shouted at him, the care worker was immediately sacked.

I do think all the failings have to be laid firmly at the feet of the senior management. If any one incident of abuse is allowed to pass without the correct actions being taken, it provides a green light for others to act the same. It also makes it harder for the good staff to whistle-blow, if they think that reports will not be taken seriously, or they will be in a worse position themselves.

At the time that I was working there was a fairly similar scandal, about children's care in the Midlands, staff incorrectly restraining children, locking them in rooms, dragging them along the floor etc. Sadly, I think these cases will continue to occur until there are very strong penalties (criminal charges?) in place for the management of such establishments.

Just saw on the news that 3 men and 1 woman have been bailed regarding the abuse.

I assume that will be Wayne, Michael, Alli and the man who had Simone in a headlock. There were so many others involved in this who should atleast be sacked!

I couldn't watch. I've been a support worker all my life and I have a son with asd. Hopefully, he's probably functional enough not to need a unit .... but I couldn't watch this, I'd have been sick.

Can I reassure some of you that actually, this isn't normal? that in all the homes I've worked in, the biggest crime I've come across is laziness, which is soon pounced on by the other staff and by good management. That even for minimum wage, the majority of care workers are kind, patient, reasonably skilled and well supported. That I and nobody I've every met (which must be at least 100 support workers) would ever dream of behaving in the way I've seen described on this thread. That most of the residents in care homes are loved, and that from what I've seen, they are all cared for, even the ones who kick the shit out of the staff.

Mrs Cynical-sorry got to take exception at your statement "looks like a thug".My Dh has obvious tattoos and could be classed as "looking like a thug".But he is a qualified RMN, and the gentlest man you would ever meet. He is quite gobby, and would NEVER have stood and watched the abuse he saw. He was on night shift last night so didn't see the programme,but I have told him about it when he phoned during a break cos I was in tears watching,so he will catch up tonight.

And not all bank Staff are bad.He banks cos he can't get a perm position at moment, but already whistle-blew a care home where he banked,cos of the way a member of staff treated the residents.And wasn't half as bad as what was shown last night.