People with Learning Disabilities (Abuse)

Roger Williams Excerpts

Monday 3rd September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

That goes to the heart of a number of the points made in the serious case review about the nature of the recruitment processes that were used by Castlebeck and the way in which it then carried on inadequately to train, supervise and monitor the conduct of those staff. I will come back to some of the actions that the Government are taking in that regard to make it much more difficult for that to occur again in future.

Of course, what happened at Winterbourne View came to light only as the result of the actions of the whistleblower, Terry Bryan, and the Panorama programme broadcast by the BBC. I personally thanked Terry for his actions when I spoke to him some months ago about the interim report that we published in June, and I do so again tonight. Thanks to Terry, the Care Quality Commission has changed its systems and set up a dedicated whistleblowing team. An even greater emphasis is being placed on the importance attached to the role of whistleblowers. That is why the Government have introduced a free whistleblowing helpline, not only for NHS staff but, for the first time, for social care staff, so that they can get advice on how to report concerns that they have. There has also been a strengthening of the NHS constitution to make these matters clear to their employers as well.

Terry Bryan blew the whistle on the worst excesses of a wider systemic failure. As I acknowledged in the Department of Health’s interim report in June, the problems revealed at Winterbourne View are more systemic. There has been a tendency when reporting on Winterbourne View to heap much, if not all, of the blame on the CQC. Indeed, the CQC seems to stand as the barrier to everyone else who should be in the dock being criticised, scrutinised and challenged for what went wrong. Although the CQC, rightly and properly, acknowledged its failings and apologised at the time, the issue of staffing and the freeze that this Government introduced on coming into office in May 2010 was specifically lifted for the CQC in October 2010, and there were no restrictions on staff recruitment. If there were failings of recruitment, the CQC would need to answer for them—indeed, it has—before the Health Committee.

Every part of the system—NHS and social care commissioners, providers, regulators and health and care professionals—has a part to play and, indeed, has questions to ask itself about what has passed.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

The Minister rightly pays tribute to the whistleblower, but does he agree that when vulnerable people are moved away from their communities and, indeed, their families to care homes that may be many miles away, complaints are less likely to be made and, therefore, inspections less likely to be triggered?

[Paul Burstow]

My hon. Friend makes an important point and anticipates what I am about to say. The Department’s guidance is clear. People should be supported to live in the community, wherever possible, and only in strictly limited cases should assessment and treatment centres be used. Nowhere in policy or guidance is there justification for long-stay assessment and treatment hospitals. Indeed, the CQC found length of stay ranging from anything between six weeks and 17 years, with five to seven years not uncommon.

The hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) raised the issue of data during her intervention on the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill. I agree that we need to improve data collection so that we have a clearer picture of what is going on. The painstaking work of the serious case review, Department of Health officials and others to create a clear picture of the system begs questions about the adequacy of data collection for many years.