"Cruel" Winterbourne View carers sentenced for abuse of patients
ELEVEN carers have been sentenced after admitting abusing patients with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View Hospital, near Bradley Stoke, Bristol Crown Court heard.
The home, which should have been a sanctuary, became a battleground where ill-equipped carers mimicking Nazi guards crushed residents with humiliation and brutal restraint.
Patients at the Castlebeck Ltd run business were subjected to the de-humanising “Castlebeck Way”, the court was told.
Poorly paid, inappropriately-trained staff working long shifts were left to devise their own methods of coping with people with serious learning difficulties, involving water torture, slapping, pinning down and forced feeding of medication.
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And chunks of the sorry saga were captured by an undercover reporter secretly wired for sound and vision, enabling a judge to see and hear the abuse including one defendant saying “nein, nein, nein, nein” as he appeared to slap a patient with his gloves.
Wayne Rogers, 32, of Purton Close, Bristol, attracted the toughest sentence.
Rogers, who pleaded guilty to nine charges of ill-treating Louisa Deville, Simon Tovey and Simone Blake, was jailed for two years.
His colleagues Alison Dove and Graham Doyle were sentenced to 20 months each.
Doyle, 26, of Brackendene, Bradley Stoke, had pleaded guilty to seven charges of ill-treating Miss Blake.
And Alison Dove, 25, of Chipperfield Drive, Bristol, had pleaded guilty to seven charges of ill-treating Lorraine Guildford, Louise Bissett and Miss Blake.
Their eight other colleagues were sentenced today to between four months in jail, suspended for two years, and one year in prison.
Recorder of Bristol Judge Neil Ford QC said as he sentenced them: "Many of the residents were extremely difficult to manage, and, in the absence of highly-skilled carers, were subjected to a miserable existence in which they were inappropriately restrained and punished.
"A culture of ill-treatment developed and, as is often the case, cruelty bred cruelty.
"This culture corrupted and debased, to varying degrees, these defendants, all of whom are of previous good character."
After sentencing Detective Chief Superintendent Louisa Rolfe, Head of CID with Avon and Somerset Police said: "Today, in sentencing these people, Judge Ford has recognised the inhumanity of their behaviour.
"There are no words to describe the horrific, vindictive treatment these offenders meted out to the vulnerable young adults of Winterbourne View.
"They and their loved ones should have felt safe and secure in the knowledge they were being well cared for. Instead these vulnerable young people were subjected to the most extreme and persistent abuse.
"All hate crime is abhorrent and we will not tolerate it. We will work with our safeguarding partners to address any lingering concerns about incidents that took place at Winterbourne View, and leave no stone unturned until we're satisfied that the victims and their families feel that justice has been done."
Ann Reddrop, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's South West Complex Casework Unit, said: "Every member of society has the right to live free from intimidation and fear, but the offending that took place at Winterbourne View undermined that right in an appalling and systematically brutal way. People who should have been able to trust their carers had that trust cruelly and repeatedly abused.
"Today's sentences send a clear message to those who believe there will be no consequences for their abuse of disabled people."
The other sentences were as follows:
-Michael Ezenagu, 29, of Malabar Court, India Way, London, who pleaded guilty to two counts of ill-treating Simone Blake. Sentenced to six months, suspended for two years.
-Jason Gardiner, 43, of Mellent Avenue, Bristol, who admitted two charges of ill-treating Louisa Deville and Simon Tovey. Sentenced to four months, suspended for two years.
-Danny Brake, 27, of Beechen Drive, Fishponds, who pleaded guilty to two counts of ill-treating Miss Blake and Mr Tovey. Sentenced to four months, suspended for two years.
-Sookalingum Appoo, 59, of Dial Lane, Bristol, who admitted three charges of wilfully neglecting Miss Blake. Sentenced to six months in prison.
-Holly Draper, 24, of The Old Orchard, Mangotsfield, who pleaded guilty to two charges of ill-treating Miss Blake. Sentenced to 12 months in prison.
-Charlotte Cotterell ,22, of Melrose Avenue, Yate, who pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating Miss Blake. Sentenced to four months, suspended for two years.
-Neil Ferguson, 28, of Emersons Green, who pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating Miss Blake. Sentenced to six months, suspended for two years.
-Kelvin Fore, 33, of Ellesmere Walk, Middlesborough, who pleaded guilty to one charge of wilfully neglecting Miss Blake. Sentenced to six months in prison.
Comments
by allananlyn
Saturday, October 27 2012, 1:29AM
“quite surprised the evening post published their addresses”
by bonzaharris1
Friday, October 26 2012, 10:40PM
“yes capndave, but they abolished hanging in the 1960's !!”
by capndave
Friday, October 26 2012, 9:46PM
“Aren't there two meanings to the word Suspended?”
by Gazzabristol
Friday, October 26 2012, 9:27PM
“The private sector issue is not a simple one.
In this scenario I suspect that the private sector was used to drive down costs - and this was no doubt mostly done via front line staff numbers/salaries. Although in fairness I am sure their administration costs are quite low too in comparison to a public sector organisation.
Like it or not but lower salaries will result a lower calibre of applicant and of course the abuse was allowed to occur by poor management who only had their eye on the bottom line.
When a large amount of abuse occurred under the stewardship of the public sector I suspect it was the same story - poor management and low salaries again resulting in a lower calibre of applicant plus of course higher administration costs although I suspect they had more staff redundancy (as in slack) so that when people were not deliberately abusing the residents they were able to provide a better quality of care if someone was off sick etc.
No doubt the best staff are working in higher paid private sector homes/hospitals catering to more wealthy clients some as rich pensioners in retirement homes and you have to compete with those companies if you want the best people.
I am a firm believer in free markets but in this case the market was not used to drive up quality but rather drive down costs at the expense of quality. Clearly there was little in the way of monitoring when it came to quality of care both from the provider and who ever in the public sector was responsible for the contract with them.
As I see it you either have to find a way to improve management and efficiency in the public sector or find a way to get the private sector to drive up quality. Problem is either way will result in us paying more for it than we do now. Which brings me back to the point that we don't want to pay more.
In that sense we are all guilty; we were the ones that were prepared to leave vulnerable people in the hands of chavs that we just dragged off the street for a pittance of a salary. Buck stops with us.
Hell I guess we can just blame it all on the scum bags and go to bed with a clear conscience right?”
by allananlyn
Friday, October 26 2012, 6:04PM
“@gazzabristol
i don not agree with vigilantes one bit, the point i was making is that as long as the courts are not seen to be punishing people inappropriately then the vigilantes will always have an argument.”
by taxpayerbris
Friday, October 26 2012, 5:43PM
“Scum they are each and all! You don't need more money to be human to people who need care if you go into the profession as a carer, for £3.5k per week I'd have an amazing life if I got to administer the money myself. Stop profit based private sector being involved and actually divert the taxes we pay into the benefits to the general population it is intended for and not into expense accounts, second homes, high profit margins and excessive bonuses of the self appointed glitterati.
Pay the money not to CEO's and managers but to front line staff and resources, there is a natural need for control but no apparent accountability of the controllers, cases to answer in the myriad of public servants we pay for that have a duty of care in this and every other repeated failing.
There are no excuses or mitigation due to people who abuse and humiliate the weak and vulnerable, economic, educational or professional; these people are cruel and should never be allowed into a position of trust again.”
by GlosYap2
Friday, October 26 2012, 5:21PM
“Private sector health services finest hour?”
by Gazzabristol
Friday, October 26 2012, 4:53PM
“Nasty pieces of work. Should have had longer sentences.
Let this be a warning to us all that we are not paying enough for Care services and if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
If we want people to have quality care and be treated with dignity then we need to start dipping into our pockets and paying more to attract the right type of staff. I wouldn't describe the current salaries as a "living wage" and is it any surprise that such posts are often filled by the dregs of society?
DON'T GET ME WRONG: I am sure there are very many excellent and dedicated people doing these jobs but there are simply not enough of them and the amount they get paid is an insult. We are lucky those guys are doing it out of a genuine desire to care for people because they sure as hell aren't doing it for the money.
@allananlyn
Do NOT encourage vigilantes. Most vigilantes are the same sort of chav scum as the people that just got convicted. They are the type of people that would bully your kids in school and go on to beat up innocent people after getting wasted in Bristol Centre on an evening.
They are not the type of people you want to outsource our justice system too. Yes these people should have got longer sentences but are you prepared to pay more in tax to increase prison spaces? I am but sadly most people are not.”
by allananlyn
Friday, October 26 2012, 4:48PM
“seems your on your own lone ranger”
by Bonkim2003
Friday, October 26 2012, 4:48PM
“Bring back the birch and public flogging.”