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Somerset Court
The incidents highlighted by the report centred on Mendip House, part of Somerset Court. Photograph: Stephen Morris/The Guardian
The incidents highlighted by the report centred on Mendip House, part of Somerset Court. Photograph: Stephen Morris/The Guardian

Somerset care home staff bullied autistic residents, review finds

This article is more than 6 years old

Report calls for nationwide changes to the way care placements are managed

People with autism living in a care home in Somerset were taunted, bullied and humiliated by staff, a review has found.

Workers at the home run by the National Autistic Society threw objects at residents and teased and swore at them, the report from the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB) says.

A whistleblower claimed one resident of Mendip House was slapped, forced to eat chillies and repeatedly thrown into a swimming pool.

In another incident highlighted in the report, a staff member is said to have put a ribbon around a resident’s neck and ridden him “like a horse”. Concerns about a “laddish” culture were raised.

When the home was investigated, inspectors found residents had been funding staff meals during outings and almost £10,000 had to be reimbursed.

The review calls for nationwide changes to the way care placements are managed. None of the residents were local and the report highlights weaknesses in the system by which authorities who place people outside their area monitor the care they receive.

Mendip House has been closed down and the residents, some of whom had lived there for many years, have been found new placements. Staff were disciplined and police investigated, but no criminal proceedings have been launched.

The review draws parallels to the case of Winterbourne View, the private hospital near Bristol where people with severe learning difficulties were abused.

Mendip House was home to six adults and had a staff of 26. It was one of seven dwellings at the National Autistic Society’s Somerset Court campus.

At the time, Somerset Court was home to 42 adults with severe autism placed by 30 local authorities and clinical commissioning groups from across the UK.

Set in 26 acres (10.5 hectares) of land near Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset Court was the first specialist centre for people with autism in the UK. While Mendip House has closed, Somerset Court still operates.

The report says some of the residents had experienced abuse and assaults in other homes. Some families had fought to get a place for their son or daughter at Somerset Court, trusting that they would receive excellent care.

One of the victims, a man in his 50s, had lived at Somerset Court for more than 40 years, his place funded by a London borough. Staff threw cake at his head and put crayons in his coffee. When he asked for a biscuit he was given an onion and when he would not eat it, he was sent to his room.

A man in his 50s whose place was funded by a Scottish authority was made to crawl on all fours. His anticonvulsant medication was lost. Another man always flinched in the presence of a particular staff member.

The report calls on the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Local Government Association to carry out a national consultation on steps to regulate the commissioning of care placements. It says local authorities and clinical commissioning groups need to take responsibility to actively monitor the quality of care provided for the people they place.

Richard Crompton, the independent chair of the SSAB, said: “This happened to be in Somerset, but the weaknesses in the system are nationwide and must be considered at that level.”

Mark Lever, the chief executive of the National Autistic Society, apologised for the mistreatment residents had suffered. “People living at our Mendip House care service were not shown proper care and respect and were mistreated by a group of our staff,” he said.

“When people raised the alarm … we took immediate action to make sure residents were safe and to investigate what went wrong. We brought in different staff who knew the people living in the house to ensure they were well supported.

“We also disciplined and then dismissed staff. After deciding to close the service, we supported families and their home local authorities while they found the six residents alternative places to live, helping them through what could have been a difficult transition to their new homes.”

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