Slammed hospital company ordered to improve

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) investigated Castlebeck after an undercover reporter secretly filmed vulnerable residents with learning disabilities being pinned down, slapped, doused in cold water and repeatedly taunted and teased.

Twelve people who worked at Winterbourne View near Bristol were arrested and are currently on police bail.

Four other employees were suspended from Castlebeck’s Rose Villa care home in Bristol amid claims of misconduct.

Yesterday, the CQC said it had serious concerns about three other Castlebeck services and another seven did not fully comply with essential standards of quality and safety.

CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower said: “We need to be clear: we have not found problems on the same scale as were found at Winterbourne View.

“However – we do have serious concerns at four locations in particular. In these cases we are taking action, although for legal reasons we cannot go into detail at this time. We will report fully later.

“Our inspections have found a range of problems, many of which are found in a number of different services.

“This clearly suggests that there are problems that Castlebeck needs to address at a corporate level – the company needs to make root and branch improvements to its services and processes.

“Where necessary, we have demanded improvements.

“Where we have had immediate concerns about people’s safety we have taken action. In the case of Winterbourne View we took action which led to its closure.”

Castlebeck has 23 sites – 11 independent mental health hospitals and 12 adult social care centres.