Winterbourne View (Hospital)

Paul Burstow Excerpts

Tuesday 15th May 2012 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

I promised to update the House about ongoing activity in relation to Winterbourne View private hospital and other services for people with learning disabilities.

The House will wish to note that nine people employed at Winterbourne View hospital have pleaded guilty and have been referred for sentencing reports. A further two people have pleaded not guilty and are due back in Bristol Crown court on 6 August. Once the criminal proceedings are completed, we expect the serious case review, chaired by Dr Margaret Flynn, to be published.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has now completed its programme of focused inspections of 150 hospitals and care homes for people with learning disabilities. The reports from these inspections are being published in batches, and the final 10 reports were published on 9 May 2012. They can be found at: www. cqc.org.uk/LDReports?1atest. These reports have found poor practice in some of the units, and common areas of concern include limited person-centred care, limited appropriate activities and a lack of monitoring and learning from incidents of restraint. CQC will publish a summary national report of these inspections in the summer.

The final departmental review of Winterbourne View will draw its conclusions on the basis of the findings from the serious case review and evidence from the other investigations and reports that have been undertaken, and so will be published soon after the serious case review.

In recognition of the seriousness of this issue, the Department intends to publish an interim report before summer recess, based on the findings of the CQC summary report and other evidence from the engagement with key partners, which will set out proposed actions and solutions.

I will continue to update the House.