Damning report on services for people with learning disabilities

A new report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that the majority of privately run institutions for people with learning disabilities, provide unsafe and poor quality care.

The CQC survey found that the private sector compared unfavourably to the NHS with only one in three private care hospitals and homes providing an adequate standard of care compared to two-thirds of NHS institutions. Despite many of the institutions intending to provide short-term care only, the CQC found several cases of people being in the same accommodation for five-to-seven years and in one case found someone who had been in the same assessment and treatment centre for 17 years.

The inspections were carried out in the wake of the scandal at a Bristol care home which was featured in a BBC Panorama programme, and don’t actually discover quite why the standards of care vary so widely and tend to be inferior in the private sector. Although the CQC did not find evidence of actual abuse, as had been seen at Winterbourne View, nearly half of all the hospitals and care homes failed to meet the required standards of care and this has prompted the government to look into changes which could be made, such as improved data and clearer guidelines.

The CQC has also said that it is looking into changing its inspection regime to include weekends and evenings to gain a clearer understanding of the care provided.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/two-in-three-private-care-homes-unsafe-7881215.html