BBC's Panorama exposes abuse at UK hospital owned by Irish investors

[Slim Buddha]

A McCreevy/Harney initiative which was as mental as it was criminal was to incentivise through the tax system investment in nursing homes. This attracted all manner of schytebag into the nursing home racket with the result that you had Charlie Bird undercover in the Leas Cross/Abu Gharib Nursing Home in North Dublin reporting from "the frontline" of private nursing homes in Ireland.

The idea of allowing bloodsucker bottomliners anywhere near geriatric care is, by definition, bonkers and only-tooth-claw neo-liberals like Harney and McCreevy could possible have thought it was a sensible concept.

This appears to be more of the same, writ large.

[Andrew49]

Almost half of all care homes and treatment centres in England are failing to protect adults with learning disabilities, a report says.

Unannounced inspections were carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), England's health regulator. Nearly half of the 145 hospitals and care homes inspected by the CQC did not meet required welfare standards. This comes after abuse was uncovered by BBC Panorama at the Winterbourne View hospital near Bristol.

LINK

[C. Flower]

Almost half of all care homes and treatment centres in England are failing to protect adults with learning disabilities, a report says.

Unannounced inspections were carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), England's health regulator. Nearly half of the 145 hospitals and care homes inspected by the CQC did not meet required welfare standards. This comes after abuse was uncovered by BBC Panorama at the Winterbourne View hospital near Bristol.

LINK

Shocking. If you can't speak up for yourself there's a fair chance you'll be on your own, it seems.

[PaddyJoe]

No comment so far by the Irish investors on a highly critical report just published:

“Castlebeck appears to have made decisions about profitability, including shareholder returns, over and above decisions about the effective and humane delivery of assessment, treatment and rehabilitation,” the Serious Case Review found. “It is clear that at critical points in the wretched history of Winterbourne View, key decisions about priorities were taken by Castlebeck which impaired the ability of this hospital to improve the mental health and physical health and wellbeing of its patients.”

Criticising Castlebeck’s attitude since then, the inquiry said that Castlebeck’s own investigation, by PricewaterhouseCoopers, had failed to look at key issues – including the presence of police on 29 occasions at the hospital.

Furthermore, it refused to detail how the £3,500 weekly fee charged for each patient was spent, on grounds of “commercial sensitivity”. It also refused to share unredacted copies of the PwC inquiry, along with a review of managers.

Last night, no comment could be secured from the investors in response to the criticisms. Last year, Mr Brosnan said that all had been “shocked and appalled at what happened and determined that this will never happen again”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...321717568.html

[PaddyJoe]

It looks like JP McManus, Dermot Desmond, John Magnier and Denis Brosnan are trying to unload their ill fated care homes venture

Last night the executive chairman of Castlebeck, Sean Sullivan, confirmed that the company hired independent advisors last year to advise on the future of the group, but declined to comment on rumours that the business is for sale.

A spokesman for the company last night said it has "stabilised" since the appointment of Sean Sullivan as executive chairman in November last year, but could not say whether it has has returned to profit.

Castlebeck was bought by its Irish led consortium for £255m (€285m) in 2005 in a deal backed with loans from AIB and RBS. In 2008 the company arranged a £258m debt refinancing.

http://www.independent.ie/business/e...m-3195053.html

[PaddyJoe]

Jail sentences for six of the former staff at Winterbourne View hospital:

A BRITISH hospital owned by wealthy Irish investors where patients suffered cruel and debased treatment was run with a “scandalous lack of regard”, a judge declared yesterday.

Jailing six former staff of the Winterbourne View hospital in Bristol, Judge Neil Ford said the hospital owned by Castlebeck Ltd had been operated purely for profit.

The hospital, which charged the National Health Service £3,500 (€4,356) a week per patient, has since been closed, as have a number of others in the chain.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...325794126.html

[PaddyJoe]

Csstlebeck has been sold, it appears:

Twenty-two hospitals and care homes have been sold by Castlebeck, the Irish-owned group that was sharply criticised after patients were physically abused by staff, who were later jailed.

The operations in north Wales and Merseyside – none of which was implicated in the abuse allegations – have been sold back to former owner, Michael Adey-Jones.Castlebeck paid £50 million for the business five years ago; neither it nor Mr Adey-Jones was last night putting a value on the latest dea

The sale was approved by new management brought in after the allegations of abuse at the Winterbourne View hospital in Bristol were revealed by BBC Panorama.

The businesses, which have operated as a separate division within Castlebeck, are “outside the company’s geographical and operational core”, it said last night

Castlebeck was bought in 2005 by Lydian Capital, a Swiss-based company set up by former Kerry Group chief executive Denis Brosnan.

He later attracted wealthy Irish investors, including Dermot Desmond, John Magnier and JP McManus.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...326409409.html