Winterbourne View – Social Care Dumping Ground?
The recent follow up Panorama programme on Winterbourne View again showed poor quality service provision to people with Learning Disabilities.
NHS figures show that safeguarding alerts have been raised on at least 19 of the 51 people who were patients at Winterbourne View.
Social Care Dumping Ground
Mencap Chief Executive Mark Goldring has said that what allows Winterbourne View and places like it to flourish was that they have been used as a social care dumping ground by public bodies that had not planned ahead.
In a statement, care and support minister Norman Lamb said the Panorama programme “continues to highlight inappropriate and poor quality care”.
“There is no excuse for this,” he said.,
Mr Lamb said a review set up by the Department of Health “has found clear evidence that there are far too many people in specialist inpatient learning disability services… and many are staying there for too long”.
He went on: “People often end up in these facilities due to crises which are preventable or could be managed if people are given the right support in their homes or in community settings.”
All of the above is correct but there are two key elements that have not yet been fully explored. Firstly, Commissioning Strategies are not being rolled out effectively – it has long been the case that people with Learning Disabilities should be cared for in their own communities. Secondly, monitoring of services is inadequate. There are very good reasons for both of these failings and there is no simple solution, but all involved in Health and Social Care need to enter into dialogue to change services for the better and ensure they are not a social care dumping ground.
Commissioners are being asked to make huge cuts as a direct result of austerity measures, with some providers struggling to provide services at the price they are being offered. This was surely not the case at Winterbourne View with fees quoted at £3,500 a week.
CQC do not have the resources to adequately monitor all health and care services and some local authority monitoring needs to improve, but again, resources are an issue.
Many providers are available to provide local services with innovative solutions for people with learning disabilities, including those who have challenging behaviour. What seems to be missing is meaningful dialogue between some commissioning organisations and providers. I cannot be alone in thinking that from what I have seen of the patients at Winterbourne View, there are many other people with far more challenging behaviour living successfully in local communities where commissioners and providers have produced excellent models of supported living or residential care.