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'Alarming lack of progress' following Winterbourne View scandal

Six workers were jailed for abusing residents at the South Gloucestershire care home Credit: PA

The author of a report on the care of people with learning disabilities has reported an "alarming absence of any tangible progress" since it was published six months ago.

Sir Stephen Bubb was asked to lead a review following the scandal at Winterbourne View in South Gloucestershire. That saw six workers jailed for ill-treatment and neglect after undercover filming showed them subjecting patients to serious abuse at the private hospital near Bristol.

It led to the government pledging to move patients with learning difficulties into community care by June last year, but the deadline was missed.

Sir Stephen's report last November called for such institutions to be closed as quickly as possible, but he said today that his review of progress so far found there were still not sufficient facilities for them to go to.

"The core recommendation of my report was the need to close these institutions as quickly as possible and you can't close them until there is good strong community provision - people with learning disabilities and their families deserve action now.

"There's huge scepticism that anything will happen. NHS England needs to prove them wrong."

– Sir Stephen Bubb