Irish-owned firm forced to close third care home

A THIRD care home in Britain run by Castlebeck, the Irish-owned care company at the centre of allegations of abuse against vulnerable patients, is to close.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) — which oversees adult care services in Britain — said the company had agreed to close Arden Vale, in the West Midlands, by next Thursday. It is a home for people with learning disabilities.

Castlebeck is 80%-owned by Denis Brosnan’s Geneva-based Lydian Capital Partners. Its shareholders include JP McManus, John Magnier and Dermot Des- mond.

Britain’s National Health Service and local authorities pay Castlebeck an average of €4,000 a week to care for each patient.

Castlebeck hit the headlines after the BBC secretly filmed vulnerable residents being pinned down, slapped and doused in cold water at Winterbourne View hospital near Bristol.

Winterbourne View closed in June, followed by Rose Villa, also in Bristol.

The CQC had taken legal action to prevent Castlebeck from operating Arden Vale after witnessing “no evidence” of the improvements to care demanded when it visited the facility in June.

Castlebeck chief executive Lee Reed said: “The safety and well-being of people in our care will always be of paramount importance to us. Poor quality care will not be tolerated. We remain deeply sorry and apologise for any incidences where our services have in the past not met the high standards that we, those we support and their families, expect and deserve.”

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