29 October 2012 Last updated at 08:22 ET

'No excuse' for care service failures, says health minister

The abuse at Winterbourne View was uncovered by secret filming by the BBC

Health minister Norman Lamb has said there is "no excuse" for the further mistreatment of patients moved from failed care home Winterbourne View.

A BBC Panorama report on Monday is due to reveal new safety alerts have been issued for some former patients.

The Lib Dem minister said it would highlight the "unacceptable failures" still crippling care commissioning.

The report comes after six workers were jailed on Friday for abusing patients at the now closed private hospital.

Another 11 former support workers from Winterbourne View were also convicted of abusing vulnerable people with learning disabilities.

Panorama is set to report that at least 19 of the 51 former patients there have been issued with safeguarding alerts since they were moved to other care homes - according to NHS figures.

'The right support'

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Lamb said: "The BBC Panorama programme to be broadcast tonight continues to highlight inappropriate and poor quality care. There is no excuse for this."

He said a Department of Health review had found "clear evidence that there are far too many people in specialist inpatient learning disability services - including assessment and treatment units - and many are staying there for too long".

"This must not carry on and must come to an end."

Mr Lamb insisted vulnerable people would be able to avoid such facilities if "given the right support in their homes or in community settings".

He underlined the importance of people with learning disabilities or behaviour problems being able to "benefit from local personalised services" and to be "supported to live in the community wherever possible".

"Only in very limited cases should inpatient services be used," he added.

Mr Lamb went on: "The key priorities are to address unacceptable failures of commissioning and to improve the capacity and capability of commissioning across health and care for people with behaviour which challenges with the aim of driving up the quality of care they receive, improving their lives and significantly reducing the number of people using inpatient services.

"This is best done through effective joint commissioning across health and social care and proper local planning."

The health minister announced that the final report of the Winterbourne View review would be published in the near future.

Alongside the report, he said, the Department of Health would set out the responsibilities of government, commissioners, providers, professional bodies and regulators.

Panorama: The Hospital that Stopped Caring, BBC One, Monday 29 October at 20:30 GMT and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

Source : bbc[dot]co[dot]uk