25th June 2012, Guardian Society: Almost half of residential care homes for people with learning disabilities failed to meet care and welfare standards, the health and social care watchdog has found. The Care Quality Commission said 48% of the 150 locations it inspected were non-compliant in terms of whether patients “experienced safe and appropriate care, treatment and support and whether they [were] protected from abuse”.
The unannounced inspections were launched after BBC’s Panorama revealed that people with learning difficulties were being abused at Winterbourne View, a private assessment and treatment centre in Bristol, last year. The hospital, which could handle 24 patients, charged the state about £3,500 a week.
The CQC found that NHS locations were twice as likely to be compliant as private hospitals, with 33% of independent providers meeting the standards compared with 68% of those run by the state…
See http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jun/25/half-care-homes-fail-standards