Care patients subjected to violent restraint

IRISH businessman Denis Brosnan last night said he was “shocked and appalled” at the conditions found in British care homes owned by his investment firm.

An investigation into the Castlebeck group, which runs 50 care homes, found that more than 200 people with mental disabilities had been subject to inhumane treatment and substandard care.

Castlebeck is 80%-owned by Mr Brosnan’s Geneva-based Lydian Capital Partners, whose shareholders include JP McManus, John Magnier and Dermot Desmond. The chairman of the group was Mr Brosnan’s son, Paul, who resigned earlier this month, saying a chairman with relevant experience was required.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Mr Brosnan promised an investigation.

“A committee of non-executive directors of Castlebeck has commissioned [Pricewaterhouse-Coopers] to do a full review of all the company’s services. PwC’s recommendations will be implemented. We were shocked and appalled at what happened and determined that this will never happen again.”

The worst abuses occurred at Winterbourne View, near Bristol, and were uncovered by BBC’s Panorama programme, which led to its closure. Twelve people who worked there were arrested.

The Panorama team captured footage of some of the most vulnerable patients at Winterbourne View being repeatedly pinned down, slapped and taunted.

The method of restraint was so aggressive it prompted Terry Bryan, a former nurse at the hospital, to complain about staff in an email to his manager. His colleagues branded him a “do-gooder”.

He wrote: “When service users start to bang their head on the wall or office door, I have heard certain established staff members say ‘here we go’ and remain where they are. They wait for the incident to develop, ready to routinely manage the situation by restraining the person. I rarely see any established members get up and talk to the person at such times.

“When restraints occur, I see scant regard for the person’s feelings whilst they are being held. Recently, SG was being restrained and established staff members were discussing holiday plans over him whilst it was happening.”

According to Mr Bryan, he was told that if he had problems with particular patients he should “kick them in the bollocks”.

That kind of attitude did not surprise Linda Daley, whose blind and partially deaf son Derek Lovegrove, 38, died after being restrained in Cedar Vale hospital near Nottingham, another care home owned by Castlebeck. Although an inquest jury recorded an open verdict into his death, the coroner subsequently wrote to Cedar Vale raising concerns about the standard of care.

During his 11-month stay at the hospital, he was restrained by staff 28 times. Ms Daley told the Daily Telegraph: “All these companies are thinking about is money. I would love to sack the whole lot of them.”

A further study by the Care Quality Commission, Britain’s regulator for adult social care services, found that more than half of Castlebeck’s care homes were failing to meet legally binding standards.

Castlebeck chief executive Lee Reed issued an apology for the abuse at Winterbourne and promised a separate full-scale review.