Dr Margaret Flynn calls for accountability in residential care for vulnerable people
Why was Winterbourne View Hospital a scandal 10 years ago? BBC Panorama’s Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed during May 2011 had a lot to do with it. It received national news coverage due to the cruelties to which adults with learning disabilities and autism were exposed. These occurred in a private hospital which was being paid, on average, £3.5k per patient, per week from NHS coffers. Although it had an annual turnover of £3.7m, the Care Quality Commission’s light-touch regulation did not notice that the hospital had strayed far from its mandated purpose of assessment and treatment, or even a whistleblower’s three alerts. Panorama’s “breaking news” element stated 13 staff members ...
“…it was Private Eye’s forensic accountants whose findings demonstrated how the legitimacy of these recommendations were compromised by corporate structures which undermine accountability.”
