Dame Jo Williams has failed as Chairman of England’s social care regulator, weak leadership makes her position untenable over care home scandal

Dear All

The idea of whistle-blowers is that they highlight wrongdoing.

However blowing the whistle some times doesn’t work as the person who raised the alarm at the centre of a 'shocking' case of abuse of adults with learning difficulties found out, he first raised his concerns in October to the proper authorities.

And was ignored.

Now, the UK Government has ordered a report into how warnings of systematic abuse towards vulnerable adults at Winterbourne View residential hospital, in Bristol, were not acted upon by local authorities.

And also by England's social care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC)!

You could say, this is another case of corrupt Britain.

The whistle blower didn’t have the correct status.

He was ‘only a nurse' at the hospital but has been named in reports as Terry Bryan.

Despite contacting the care home's management and the CQC on several occasions his concerns failed to be followed up, according to reports today.

Mr Bryan, a senior nurse, is reported to have started work at the Winterbourne View residential hospital last August and soon after he became concerned about the standard of care and complained to the home's managers in a four-page e-mail in October.

Four page email.

But rather than tackling the problem, managers failed to address his concerns he resigned.

He wrote in the four-page email:

“Certain established staff members seem to relish restraint procedures. I have witnessed some with smiles on their faces as they restrain people. I see scant regard for the person's feelings whilst they are being held... and definitely no empathy.”

Now, there is a scandal and everyone is concerned, especially those you failed to do their jobs.

Because now; they might be losing their jobs.

UK Ministers have also ordered an urgent review into the Care Quality Commission itself after shocking revelations that the watchdog ignored repeated warnings about the appalling treatment there.

Again, action subject to status is the norm in corrupt Britain.

Police arrested three men and one woman yesterday after an undercover reporter shot footage of vulnerable adults at the Winterbourne View care home in Bristol being dragged, punched, slapped and taunted by carers.

These people will be prosecuted and if the evidence holds up, probably are looking at prison sentences.

In one incident, a member of staff trapped patients under chairs while he sat on them watching television.

A female patient had shower gel squirted in her eyes and was left in a freezing garden after having a jug of cold water poured over her.

She was also asked by a carer:

“Do you want me to get out a cheese grater and grate your face off? Do you want me to turn you into a giant pepperoni? Shall I get a razor and cut you up?”

Britain 2011.

So far England’s social care regulator last night issued an ‘unreserved apology’ after admitting it failed to respond to warnings of abuse.

Apology isn’t enough.

Chairman, Dame Jo Williams has insisted she would not resign, blaming ‘an unforgivable error of judgment’ by staff for the failure to act.

If she won’t go, then she should be publicly sacked to set an example to others that government views this matter seriously.

Williams confirmed a former nurse had contacted the Commission at least twice to complain about treatment of residents at the hospital.

Despite trying his best Mr Bryan raised the issues he received no response and in frustration took his concerns to the BBC's Panorama.

And they have blown the lid of the scandal which is shaping up to be a major scandal of epic proportions.

In her defence Dame Jo Williams said inspectors did not attempt to speak directly to the whistleblower because staff assumed any problems would be picked up through normal safeguarding procedures.

They assumed wrong.

She said:

“We are doing an internal investigation. It would appear that it was an error of judgment – assumptions were made about what other people were doing. These were false assumptions.”

Here Dame Jo Williams highlights the problem in Britain, assumptions accepted as fact.

The abuse at the facility was filmed by an undercover reporter for the BBC’s Panorama who worked there in February and March.

Wayne Rogers, 30, Graham Doyle, 25, Jason Gardener, 42, and Allison Dove, 24, have now been released on bail by Avon and Somerset police.

In the Panorama footage, Rogers can be seen apparently encouraging a female patient to commit suicide, and in another he threw jugs of cold water in a woman’s face before turning on an electric fan to freeze her into complying.

The heavily tattooed member of staff was recorded goading patients and threatening them with violence.

He then delivered on his threats as he physically abused the people in his care, treading on a woman’s hand and kicking a patient to the ground.

Mark Goldring, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, called for the hospital to be closed down.

When you read a story like this, you should remember that all these people were probably CRB cleared to work in this hospital.

The point I would like to focus on is that Terry Bryan couldn’t get the authorities to act because despite his detailed four page email, because he had no status.

The BBC got action because of their position in society.

We live in a corrupt country.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University