Castlebeck abuse case could be 'tip of the iceberg'

Two mental health trainers have warned that the abuse of disabled adults highlighted on Tuesday’s Panorama programme may be the tip of the iceberg.

Connor Kinsella and James Hourihan, who between them have30 years experience as trainers in the management of challenging behaviour, say they have encountered indifference, poor communication and low pay in the private sector.

Mr Kinsella said on one course “there were 30 people in a very small room.  We were doing a course on personality disorder, a very complicated subject, there was standing room only. 

“One chap in charge of a ward was about 70.  He had obviously retired from the NHS some time ago.”

Another organisation he worked for ran a scheme supervising ex-prisoners.  The proprietor had no relevant experience.

“During the training people were checking their e-mails.  When I challenged them, they told me they had to fulfil a quota of tasks during the day,” he said.

“They displayed an appalling us versus them attitude, not collaborative at all,” he said.

Mr Kinsella said he could almost see a Winterbourne View scenario, except this organisation worked with people in their own homes.

“It was if they were saying, we are being paid minimum wage we do not give a toss as long as we get some overtime,” he said.

Mr Kinsella believes that the closure of so many NHS beds has left the market wide open for the private sector.

At another company, which works with people who would previously have been in long-term care, Mr Kinsella found staff fighting and arguing so much that he had to end the session.

“My main concern is money, the slashing of training budgets. 

“Frontline workers are being made redundant.  They are very busy with 7-8 hours a day contact with clients.  Who is going to do their jobs?” he asked.

“I remember Cameron on the TV fighting it out with the others, saying we will look after the vulnerable.  What have we seen of that?  It’s frightening,” he said.

Mr Hourihan said abuse could be unintentional, where staff don’t have clear guidance and don’t really know what they’re doing.

“Sometimes institutions naively believe they don’t have a problem, it is then up to the staff to manage the situation,” he said.

He added organisations sometimes have training bought in for them by care managers who are unfamiliar with the field.

“They bring in trainers who are ex-military, police or special hospitals to train care staff working with people who are difficult but not dangerous. 

“This is not done out of malice but out of ignorance,” he said.

But abuse can also be intentional.  Abuse takes place in private away from prying eyes. Weak management allows people who don’t know what they are doing to run the ship, he said.

Mr Kinsella said, “Training is not just about ticking boxes and saying, there’s a CQC inspector coming in next month, let’s get a trainer in, let’s get all staff certificates of training to put in their files.

“Good organisations give staff training because they want to.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to Panorama,” he said.

This article was published on the Community Care website on Friday, June 3, 2011.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2011/06/03/116935/Castlebeck-abuse-case-could-be-39tip-of-the-iceberg39.htm