Six care home workers were jailed Friday in a case that shocked Britain after an undercover reporter captured footage of them abusing residents who had learning disabilities.
Five others were given suspended sentences at Bristol Crown Court for what Judge Neil Ford QC called a “gross breach of trust and power” at Winterbourne View in Hambrook, Gloucestershire.
The nine support workers and two nurses were handed jail terms ranging from four months to two years, the longest term being served by Wayne Rogers, 32, who pleaded guilty to nine charges of ill-treatment.
The case was brought after a whistleblower tipped off the BBC about abuse at the home. Journalist Joseph Casey disguised himself as a carer and used a hidden camera to gather footage for five weeks in 2011, which was later shown on “Panorama.”
He captured images of residents being slapped, soaked in water, trapped under chairs, taunted, sworn at and having their hair pulled and eyes poked.
During the trial, the court saw footage of Rogers telling one resident, Simone Blake: “Do you want me to get a cheese grater and grate your face off? Do you want me to turn you into a giant pepperoni?”
He also slapped another resident, Simon Tovey across the face and told him: “Do you want a scrap? Do you want a fight? Go on and I will bite your bloody face off.”
Judge Ford said that in the “absence of highly skilled carers,” vulnerable patients 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,” Ford said. “This culture corrupted and debased, to varying degrees, these defendants, all of whom are of previous good character.”
Families of the abused patients, who packed into the court for the sentencing, said questions about failings at the care home, operated by Castlebeck Ltd, that led to the abuse still needed to be answered.
“Not only does the management of the hospital bear responsibility for what happened but there is evidence that attempts by whistleblowers to alert the authorities were ignored,” said Liberty legal director James Welch, who is representing some of the patients’ families.
It cost an average of 3500 pounds per week to keep someone at Winterbourne View, which has since been shut down.
Six care home workers jailed for abusing residents
