Care workers have been charged by the police with abuse in a home that housed people with autism, where it is reported a ‘chill-out room’ was used to lock in residents overnight.
Seven people have now been charged over the alleged ill-treatment of residents at the Veilstone, Gatooma and Teignmead former care homes in Devon. The alleged abuse is reported to have taken place between January 2010 and December 2011. All charged have been released on bail and are due to appear before Exeter magistrates on 28 October.
Alison Millar, from human rights law firm Leigh Day, which is representing vulnerable adults at Veilstone, confirmed that one of her clients was previously subjected to horrific abuse at the notorious Winterbourne View private hospital in Bristol. The vulnerable man was moved 100 miles away to Veilstone Care Home only to endure more alleged abuse. Nearly a dozen care workers were jailed or received suspended sentences last year following the Winterbourne View scandal.
Millar has spoken of a pattern of abuse in care homes: “The allegations we have heard make us believe this could be one of the worst incidents of abuse towards vulnerable adults in residential care and, moreover, that the abuse at Winterbourne View, which was shockingly exposed by Panorama, was not just an isolated occurrence but a symptom of a more systematic problem in the care sector.”
The alleged abuse at Devon came to light following a 2011 account by a whisteblower. The home, run by the Atlas Project Team Ltd and charged with caring for adults with learning disabilities, was subsequently inspected by the Care Quality Commission. It noted that some of the residents had autism.
An unannounced inspection of Veilstone by the CQC found that residents were kept overnight in a ‘chill-out room’. The room was found to have been unheated and contained only a lightbulb, an inflatable mattress, a CCTV camera and an armchair. Care workers told inspectors that residents were “verbally prompted or physically assisted” into the room.
A CQC report states: “The window was locked, so there was no ventilation in the room if the door was closed, and there was no curtain or other window covering to promote privacy (the room is on the ground floor and can be easily looked into).” It goes on to say: “We were told by the manager that the ‘quiet room’ was used as a place for people to relax but it had no features of a relaxing, calming nature as it lacked any form of stimulus and was stark and cold.”
On being question by inspectors, staff admitted to not having any training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and deprivation of liberty safeguards, both of which provide a legal framework that protects people who lack the mental ability to make decisions about their life and welfare.
The seven people charged are Victoria Cobbett, 25, from Bideford; Paul Hewitt, 68, from Teignmouth; Russell Hewitt, 40, from Teignmouth; Jolyon Marshall, 39, from South Molton; Rachel Marshall (nee Carter), 29, from South Molton; Timothy Stevens, 43, from Bideford; and Emma Turner, 27, from Teignmouth.
Published: 8 October 2014
