Panorama: Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

[Badnik Mechanic]

You will not like this story. I have been in two minds as to if I should post this, but now that it's front page news just about everywhere and that we've had topics on here about various civilian deaths in warzones, I suspect we're all mature enough to deal with this one.

Also I think it's important for people to read up about this and at the very least watch the show in question, if only to have your eyes opened about what can and does go on in 'civilised' society.

Edit: I have decided to remove the images. You can find them on the links below, theres nothing 'graphic' it's just not that nice to see.

In the last few months, I've been highly critical of the TV Show Panorama, mainly because it used to show good investigative reporting and exposed flaws and abuses of 'the system.'

Mainly because lately their TV shows have basically boiled down to "Deadbeat dad leaves home" "Videogames might make some people addictive" and "FIFA is corrupt!" Nooooo really? As my eyes roll.

Then last night they had a show which was entitled.

Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

The show was advertised as your typical undercover reporting, reporter goes in, works at a hospital, is horrified at the treatment. Nothing we've not seen advertised before.

... ..

Then just before the show, the BBC puts up a warning which is something like "This programme contains scenes which viewers may find distressing, viewer discression is advised" Normally.. the BBC does not do that.

So I watched the show, and before it was even 10 min into it, I was horrified.

It was one of the most disturbing pieces of undercover reporting I have ever seen.

The show started after a whistleblower contacted the BBC regarding a 'hospital' he worked at, specifically, he told them that at the top floor of the care home the corridors are all locked, theres no CCTV and other than staff and patients, nobody else is allowed up there, not even the relatives of the patients go up there.

The episode focused on a care home called Winterbourne View Care Home, run by a company called Castlebeck.

The episode showed the following.

* There was a man who had a condition which meant he had the mental age of 4 being hit repeatedly in the head by several care workers. At one point he had his drinks bottle (his favourite item that is his 'security' it would be like if someone broke into your house and took your favourite things) taken by staff who threw it around and even threattened to throw it out of a 4th floor window.

* Several other people who were usually sat calmly were spat at, verbally abused so that they would react aggressively so that the staff could apply 'the holds' and use physical force to hold them down.

* A young woman was pinned to the floor whilst staff shouted at her, she was held in a hold which was described by a medical expert as being 'a martial arts technique, that has no place in any kind of medical restraint practice.'

* Another woman was pinned underneath a chair for several hours whilst staff verbally abused her and another placed a 'bag' over her head, another would then hit her legs.

* Several patients were the victims of what one doctor described as torture.

* One 19 year old girl was dragged out of bed by her hair, thrown into a shower, they deliberately turned it on (she was still dressed) but didn't use any hot water. They poured various hair products over her and threw bottles at her. She was then taken outside (early March so it's still VERY cold outside). Left there for nearly half an hour, had more cold water poured onto her.

Later in the day the same girl had water from a bunch of flowers (a present from her parents) poured over her head and the flowers thrown at her. During this time the girl is crying and asking for her mum. She's then dragged into her room and beaten by the staff. At this point the hidden camera runs out of battery, but the abuse continued for another hour.

Do I need to go on?

Within moments of the show airing the police had arrested 4 people from the care home (all have now been released on bail). The company in question apologised unreserably and issued a statement on their website.

So how could this abuse go on for so long? Didn't someone report it? Are there not government bodies that monitor these places.

Yes... Someone did report it... several times... before he went to the BBC. The governing body who he reported it to simply ignored his claims, as did the company who ran the hospital. Everyone except the BBC ignored it.

Following the broadcast, the Government (the same government that has announced cuts to this kind of service) has announced an urgent review into this situation, the body that monitors this kind of abuse (the same body that ignored the earlier reports of abuse going on, has also announced an investigation.) The company (who also ignored the abuse claims) that runs the care home has announced an urgent review.

I watched the show in it's entirety, it was quite horrific, the fact that these people were patients and should have been looked after were failed by every single person except for the BBC who had to gather as much evidence as possible in order to comfront those responsible is shameful for everyone concerned. A lot of people are angry at this, just one look at twitter and looking for Panorama abuse will give you an idea as to how angry people were at these scenes.

For those that didn't see the broadcast and want to see it, I would advise you that the show is quite horrible due to the levels of abuse that the patients recieve.

Did anyone else watch this particular episode of Panorama?

Panorama's official website (You can watch the show here if you live in the UK, as well as a news report on the abuse).

Guardian newspaper article.

Telegraph newspaper article

For those outside of the UK, the episode has been put on youtube, but I won't link you directly to that.

Also the website for the company in question does have a rather fetching 'contact us' section. Comes in quite handy once you watch the episode.

Edit: Please do not + or - rep this openning post, I just want to report what happened not recieve any + or neg for doing so in this particular case.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Hogfather

[Nepenthe]

Whenever I hear appalling stories about shitty human behavior nowadays, I'm apt to not having a truly emotional response. I figure it would make me constantly angry with the world, and frankly don't want to be constantly angry. But even the preview video was so abhorrent that my first thought was that I want the place burned down and everyone involved in either the direct abuse or the ignoring of the allegations to be tarred and feathered and carted around the town to be made examples of.

[Indigo Rush]

I could go on about how terrible this is, and could give hundreds of reasons why the staff of Winterbourne View Care Home should not only be fired, but imprisoned without bail (yes, I'm aware some were imprisoned, but I want ALL of them behind bars for this) and I could also explain in detail why this is morally wrong.

But I won't. This speaks for itself. This is nothing short of demonic and hateful. This is almost a supernatural amount of hatred. What is the motivation? Why would anybody mistreat another human life so irresponsibly and cruelly?

This is just evil. I'm sorry if I'm sounding shallow here, but this is evil. My heart and prayers goes out to those abused and their families. This is such a downer. I'm reminded how lucky I am to live the life I do, even with financial stress, I can say that I have never been abused and hated like this. It angers and saddens me so much. This is just, so wrong.

I think I'm tearing up. I'm sorry guys, I can't offer anything funny, nor should I be able to.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Indigo Rush

[Vertekins]

I for one believe that a large amount of 'inmates' of care homes ESPECIALLY elderly care homes shouldn't be there in the first place.

It's disgusting that the old and infirm are treated by younger persons as being unimportant commodities that "need" to be uprooted and placed into these institutions. The only exceptions I can see are people who pose a risk to themselves and/or others, such as Dementia patients, who can recieve adequate care at such institutions. My mother will only go into one of these places over my dead body.

And as for this, it's yet another enraging, saddening and vile story of sickening abuse that is unfortunately, pitifully, all too common. Perpetuated by sick people who are in a position of (Absolute) power over other people.

As for filthy disgusting hospitals that can't even give basic fundamental care to people, I say strip the hospital administration fat cats of their salaries and get in people who actually know how to run a hospital without turning a blind eye to the appaling standards of care on their wards. I also believe that a shake-up of nursing staff should be in order so the ineptitude should be purged, as there's no place for it in a place that has the responsibility of looking after vulnerable and ill people.

[Carbo]

I don't really deploy using single defining words to things like this, and I've never actually used this one either to anything because I just never found it fitting for anything I described.

But really. These are scum.

Castlebeck, the company that owns that home, made a statement about it. Make of it what you will.

[Sega DogTagz]

I want to say something on the issue…… but I simply can’t.

Everyone of us has one of those things that when presented, can cause a complete shut down of the rational side of your brain. This is one of mine.

Its nothing new, in fact, such allegations are rampant over here in the states. Still, I hold my tongue. I don’t know what I’d say or what I’d do if I ever met someone responsible for this kind of thing face to face, but I know it wouldn’t be legal.

……..dang.

[Flyboy Fox]

I didn't see the programme myself, but my mum was telling me about it just earlier today... she told me all about most of the things listed in the opening post, and it just made me feel sick and so deeply sad. This happens all over the world, but it always hits home when it's close to home... and this is not far from where I live. Not that distance from me should have any bearing on how I feel - it's disgusting no matter where it happens, and of course this one bust won't help all the people still trapped in similar abusive situations in other establishments. Guh.

[Alex2Beta]

Oh my..This is truly disgusting, not only do the people who work there simply ignore to look after sick patients, but they also do abuse..That just killed me inside, why would there be such abuse?

Are those people sick or something, do they have to treat others like in a dungeon? The minute I read all this my appetite has simply just fell, stuff like this just angers me to the maximum but the biggest part that puts the max on my anger is, why? Let's see..A cold shower, a quick stroll in a cold weather, and more beating up..I am sickened.

[Mollfie]

I didn't watch it, I might later but I dunno...

Anyway, I was wondering if they ever explain WHY these people treated patients like that? Were there any reasons given during the programme? There HAS to be a reason. I do not believe that people are evil or anything like that, I believe that there is always a reason behind someone's actions, and so that makes me want to know what their excuse is to mistreat and abuse fragile patients.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Mollfie

[Stacy]

I didn't watch it, I might later but I dunno...

Anyway, I was wondering if they ever explain WHY these people treated patients like that? Were there any reasons given during the programme? There HAS to be a reason. I do not believe that people are evil or anything like that, I believe that there is always a reason behind someone's actions, and so that makes me want to know what their excuse is to mistreat and abuse fragile patients.

[Flyboy Fox]

It's nothing more, or less, than a very sad live example of that famous prisoner/prison warden experiment. The Stanford Prison Experiment. See it here: http://www.prisonexp.org/ or on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

[Mollfie]

The sad thing is Mollfie is that sometimes there is no reason why these bastards mistreated their patients, sometimes there is no logic behind some peoples actions.

I don't believe that. There is a reason behind every action or comment a person makes, it might be something hidden or deepseated and you may never find out what it is but it is always there somewhere.

[Tobbii]

I don't believe that. There is a reason behind every action or comment a person makes, it might be something hidden or deepseated and you may never find out what it is but it is always there somewhere.

Yes, you are partially right. It depends on whether or not you can count certain things as "reasons".

A lot of people just find joy by making/watching other people suffer as it puts them in a better position.

[Stacy]

Yeah I guess, but I think they were either people unfit for the job and took it out on the patients or they deliberately took the job to control, manipulate and abuse the patients (Sadists).

I really do think there needs to be more control over who gets to work looking after the severely disabled, the mentally ill and the elderly people in the UK, thats for certain.

Edited June 1, 2011 by BW199148

[Mollfie]

Yes, you are partially right. It depends on whether or not you can count certain things as "reasons".

A lot of people just find joy by making/watching other people suffer as it puts them in a better position.

I would consider that a reason. Even with that there can be reasons behind it too though. But why would such a person be a careworker? Were these employees properly trained? Had they worked in care for a long time? etcetc It raises a lot of questions.

It's so incredibly sad for those involved and their families, who were unaware of what was going on. They were obviously unable to cope with caring for their family member so they put them in such a facility.

Ugh.

I'm watching it now btw.

Just wanted to say, there are many carers out there who do fantastic jobs. But some are poorly trained. The old lady who lived next door to me wasn't well looked after, her carers were lazy. So my mum and I would pop in to check on her until she went into a home and then she was fine, and we still visited. My sister worked as a carer for a while until her personal life kinda fell apart. I know other people who work as carers and genuinely love their jobs despite how difficult it can be.

ANYONE can apply to be a carer, but I'm not sure how difficult it is to actually get the job though.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Mollfie

[Vertekins]

This isn't a specifically case of poor training and such.

This is a case involving barbaric human beings who, carer or not, poorly trained or not, are inflicting horrendous and brutal treatment on vulnerable people.

[Mollfie]

Government man did say that atleast one of the members of staff is untrained, but long serving. The guy worked at a young offenders institute and "loved to restrain people" O_o

Why would have employ an untrained person to care for mentally disabled people?? Surely that's a bad idea from the start?

Ugh the whole thing is sickening.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Mollfie

[Badnik Mechanic]

Anyway, I was wondering if they ever explain WHY these people treated patients like that? Were there any reasons given during the programme?

During the show someone who they interviewed that saw the footage said that one guy was clearly 'in charge' he was the ringleader, he had a presence and used aggression and his build to force himself into that position of power. He said that over time the other staff who were not as influential have followed his way and abused the patients to partially get his approval.

However, another reason given was that the staff, in their collective mind no longer saw the patients as being equals, to the point where they no longer saw them as being people, hence why they no longer treated them as equals but as objects for ammusement.

[Mollfie]

During the show someone who they interviewed that saw the footage said that one guy was clearly 'in charge' he was the ringleader, he had a presence and used aggression and his build to force himself into that position of power. He said that over time the other staff who were not as influential have followed his way and abused the patients to partially get his approval.

However, another reason given was that the staff, in their collective mind no longer saw the patients as being equals, to the point where they no longer saw them as being people, hence why they no longer treated them as equals but as objects for ammusement.

That's the impression I got.

It sounds awful but it does remind me of when we learned about Nazi Germany in Sociology and how more often than not quite reasonable people went along with horrible ideas and actions because there was an authority figure, especially if one they fear, telling them to do so and because everyone else was. There's lots of social experiments that show how even your nice, average person nowadays will do horrible things if someone of authority tells them too, especially if they are assured that they won't get in any trouble for it.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Mollfie

[Flyboy Fox]

@Mollfie: Like the Stanford Prison Experiment I mentioned earlier. This situation is a horrible but fascinating example of how that kind of social psychology works....

[Badnik Mechanic]

Big bump but following this TV show there has been a major development which is just breaking right now. Not sure how many of you remember this topic but when this was shown on TV last year it had quite the impact on people who watched it.

Well today, the court case ended. Six out of the 11 'care' workers have been jailed today following the investigation by the Panarama team and subsequent serious case review.

Castlebeck, the company who ran the care home has been heavilly criticised, claiming that they would have never known abuse was going on had the BBC not investigated.

Furthermore, Castlebeck has gone through a major re-branding since last years revelations, and they've responded to the 'serious case review' but not the court case itself. This part I think many people will find interesting...

Following the publication of the Serious Case Review a letter in relation to the Serious Case Review report has been sent to and acknowledged by South Gloucestershire County Council. The board of Castlebeck has read and noted the contents of the Serious Case Review and carefully considered the suggestion to contribute to the cost of the review, but given all the current circumstances found that they must decline.

So they didn't know that their staff were abusing people, they're been heavilly criticised by everyone... but they don't feel thats enough to justify contributing to the cost of the serious case review that they caused... hmmm right.

Also the families of the victims are now taking a civil case against Castlebeck. I for one hope they sue the pants off them.

Source: BBC.

Edit: Full verdicts are as follows.

• Wayne Rogers, 32, of Kingswood, jailed for two years after admitting nine charges of ill-treatment.
  
• Alison Dove, 25, of Kingswood, was jailed for 20 months for seven counts of abuse;
  
• Graham Doyle, 26, of Patchway, was jailed for 20 months for seven counts of abuse;
  
• Nurse Sookalingum Appoo, 59, of Downend jailed for six months for wilfully neglecting patients;
  
• Nurse Kelvin Fore, 33, from Middlesbrough, also jailed for six months for wilfully neglecting patients;
  
• Holly Laura Draper, 24, of Mangotsfield, pleaded guilty to two charges of abuse and was jailed for 12 months;
  
• Daniel Brake, 27, of Downend, pleaded guilty to two charges of abuse and was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work;
  
• Charlotte Justine Cotterell, 22, from Yate, pleaded guilty to one charge of abuse and was given a four-month jail term suspended for two years. Cotterell was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and complete 12 months supervision;
  
• Michael Ezenagu, 29, from Shepherds Bush, west London, admitted two counts of abuse and was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work;
  
• Neil Ferguson, 28, of Emerson Green, admitted one count of abuse and was given a six month jail term was suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work;
  
• Jason Gardiner, 43, of Hartcliffe, who admitted two charges of abuse, was given a four month jail term was suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.