People with Learning Disabilities (Abuse)

Debate between Tom Clarke and Kerry McCarthy

Monday 3rd September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. On these matters she shows a great humanitarian understanding, and the very point that she raises was raised with me today by families who came down to London from all over the UK because of this debate. My hon. Friend should know that she has considerable support.

The harrowing examples that are given, and there are many more, of depraved activity that some will inflict on the most vulnerable among us are almost impossible to comprehend. My hon. Friend outlines some of the reasons for that. The courts will deal with those responsible, and that is how it should be. Families of the victims may find solace when the guilty are sentenced, but what of those who seek no vengeance? What of those who take the view that such abuse should never have happened and want to know why it did happen? It is fair to say that we all want to know who was responsible for presiding over this human crisis. How far and how wide does culpability spread?

We cannot erase the evidence of abuse, where and when it happened. We cannot undo the pain, the suffering and humiliating experience endured by people with learning disabilities, and we most certainly cannot leave it to the monolithic bureaucratic machine to ensure that such abuses never occur again. We have completely and unmistakably failed to protect adults in many aspects of their character where we see that their mental capacity is that of a child.

Winterbourne View was operated by a company called Castlebeck Care Ltd, which charged the public purse an average of £3,500 per patient per week for the services that it provided. For that amount of money, a person could stay in the Ritz hotel. For that amount of money, Castlebeck Care Ltd saw a turnover of £3.7 million per year from Winterbourne View. We should know what that money was spent on. We do not know, but the Department of Health should be able to solicit this information and put it into the public domain—again, a point that the parents whom I met today made loudly and clearly. It is only then that a proper, informed judgment can be made of whether the reason for being of those who are providing such services is the pursuit of profit or patient care.

As I said, I met today families who related their own experience. What they told me is that questions and challenges must be addressed to local councils and local health authorities, which have a crucial role. The Improving Health and Lives organisation published a report written by Professor Emerson of Lancaster university, which analysed the Care Quality Commission’s investigations into 150 care providers. Professor Emerson established that only one in seven patients were being supported in an environment that was fully compliant with statutory regulations. He also established that units operated directly by the NHS were more likely to be compliant than those that were out to make a profit. Half the units investigated did not meet those important statutory levels of care.

The Care Quality Commission knew exactly what was going on. Reading through the material, it is impossible not to conclude that its inaction was simply shocking. It presided over the shambolic and chaotic delivery of vital care services. It was appalling when not even lip service was paid to the adherence to statutory regulations or the basic minimum levels of care. Prior to the abuses at Winterbourne View, there were months and months when the commission carried out no inspections at all. Its self-described “light-touch regulation” is part of the reason these abuses occurred. Winterbourne View was inspected only once every two years in the absence of any complaints. Clearly, that is profoundly unacceptable. The commission was also affected by the coalition Government’s civil service recruitment freeze, which resulted in it having fewer inspectors than it clearly required.

Inspectors must increase the pressure in care units that are underperforming. Inspections must occur more regularly and without warning. There must be stiffer penalties for care providers for non-compliance with their statutory obligations. The commission must be relentless when it comes to investigating care providers that cause concern. Of course, as we all know, Winterbourne View was closed down, but how many people know that Castlebeck Care Ltd had two other units closed down as a result of serious concerns about the level of care? The “Panorama” documentary not only exposed Winterbourne View; it laid bare the unbelievable ineptitude of the commission, which was utterly incapable of taking action in all three units before the scandal was exposed. In my view, the new mantra should be, “Inspections will occur anywhere at any time and without prior notice.”

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

My right hon. Friend talked about meeting the parents of the patients in the care homes. One of the concerns that have been raised with me is that of elderly parents who care for children with learning disabilities. In particular, my constituent Ivor Needs has a son who is vaccine damaged. Because Winterbourne View is in the vicinity of my constituency, they are really concerned because they have no confidence that the system will be able to look after their child when they are no longer around to do so. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need some system in place to ensure that people such as Ivor’s son, Matthew, are looked after when their parents are no longer around to do so?

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and, yes, she is correct. That point was raised with me today several times. Over the years I have certainly had many letters from parents who simply ask, “What will happen to our children when we are no longer here?” I am sorry to say that, on this evidence, I worry very much indeed.

There must also be a review to ensure that the current funding system does not incentivise the keeping of patients for long periods at assessment centres. If adults with learning disabilities are better treated and cared for in their own communities, there has to be a support network. Having local care units that are integrated into local treatment centres is a better model than dispatching patients for assessment hundreds of miles away from their friends, families and communities.

We cannot ignore the voices of the 86 leading figures and charities in the care sector who have stated that the current model poses a real risk that similar abuses will occur in future. Enhanced sentences rightly already exist for those found guilty of racism and homophobia. To begin the process of moving to local integrated units, the Government should begin closing large assessment centres and set a time scale. Local commissioners should develop local services that meet the care requirements of those with learning disabilities.

Sadly, those issues were identified long before the scandal emerged. The late Professor Mansell’s report “Services for People with Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviour or Mental Health Needs” was clear in its analysis and prescribed remedy.

The current care model, and the regulation of it, led to these abuses. It is the system that we are challenging. Simon spent 15 months at Winterbourne View and was hit, pushed, abused and tormented. When he cried for help, we collectively let him down. Then there is the experience of James, a child with a learning disability and autism who suffered abuse and neglect. When James needed help, we collectively let him down. Chrissy suffers from various conditions such as autism and epilepsy as well as from challenging behaviour. When Chrissy needed help, we collectively let her down. There is also Victoria, whose father died before she was nine years old. She suffered a lot of family stress. When Victoria needed care, we collectively let her down. Emmanuel, only six months out of school, was sent away to a unit far away from his family, where he remained for 18 months. All those people, and many more, have been collectively let down.

The scandal, highlighted so bravely by Terry Bryan, is predicated on the notion that if people want to abuse someone, they will, under the present system. The status quo is no longer a tenable option. I trust that the Minister will recognise that we need Government intervention to tackle and cure the cause of abuse. We never want a repeat of Winterbourne View or any similar home in today’s or tomorrow’s Britain. We want public support for our efforts in caring for and protecting people with learning disabilities. We must never collectively let them down again.