Winterbourne View: when values take a back seat in social care
We must encourage a culture where people are confident to report their concerns or else scandals like Winterbourne View will continue to happen, by Steve Scown
We must encourage a culture where people are confident to report their concerns or else scandals like Winterbourne View will continue to happen
Following the shocking and criminal behaviour towards people with autism at Winterbourne View – which led to six staff being jailed and five receiving suspended sentences – the government has released its official review.
In preparing its review, the Department of Health met people we support with learning disabilities and autism. Officials visited Joshua Close, a Dimensions service in north London, where they heard how people’s lives have been transformed since moving from long-stay hospital and institutional settings into a supported living service.
The service designs and delivers support with the people living at Joshua Close and their families, with tailored support for their needs and potential. This has resulted in people gaining greater independence, such as being active participants in their community, living in their own flats and gaining employment.
The events of Winterbourne View have led myself and my peers in the sector to reflect on why and how such appalling conduct could happen. And also how professionals, whose job it is to support vulnerable people, could have such a blatant lack of respect for human rights and such an absence of dignity towards people who are dependent on their support and compassion.
Dimensions recently interviewed whistleblower Terry Bryan about the events which took place at Winterbourne View to share with our 5,000 staff. He was very frank about what happened and why. As the head of a not-for-profit organisation which supports 3,000 people nationally, I want there to be no doubt in people’s minds what good practice is and to encourage a culture where people are confident to report any concerns they may have.
At a time when local authorities are having to make significant cuts in social care funding and providers are having to deliver more for less, it can be easy to say that quality will suffer. But this is not just about money; Winterbourne View was not cheap. It’s about the people commissioning and delivering support and their values.
There needs to be a radical shift in culture throughout the social care system. Commissioners must look at the potential of the person being supported and think proactively about prevention, rather than risk management and containment. This will save money in the longer term; we can evidence savings to local authorities who invest in positive behaviour support for example. Providers need to be more innovative and personalised in designing and delivering support packages that improve quality of life.
Many care workers supporting vulnerable people have been in the sector for a long time. But things have changed. We are working hard to transform our whole organisation to deliver personalised support that gives the people being supported choice and control over that support. This is no easy task but we have and are prepared to walk away from contracts that we feel will undermine a person’s quality of life.
We recognise and reward good practice and measure performance against our values. These include having ambition for the people we support and working in partnership with them and their families and having the courage to do the right thing in the face of adversity.
Any bureaucrat can come up with a system or process aimed at improving the mechanisms of social care delivery. But it’s people and their passion that make a difference. Compassion towards the people they support ultimately drives success and will avoid future scandals like Winterbourne View from happening.
This may sound idealistic but I have seen what a difference the staff at Dimensions are making as they embrace our personalisation journey to improve the lives of the people we support by living our values and focusing on what people can do, not what they can’t.
Steve Scown is chief executive of Dimensions, a not-for-profit provider of support to 3,000 people with learning disabilities and autism in England and Wales. Dimensions is cited in the government’s Winterbourne View review and good practice guide
