News round-up: Half of care homes for learning disabled people don't meet standards

In May last year, an edition of BBC One current affairs series Panorama made the headlines when a reporter went undercover to expose the shocking abuse and poor treatment being experienced by learning disabled patients at Winterbourne View hospital near Bristol. Since then, the issue of care standards has been high on the agenda.

Now a new report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says that almost half of England's care homes and treatment centres for adults with learning disabilities are failing to protect them. Unannounced CQC inspections of 145 premises revealed that 48% didn't meet required standards in terms of care, welfare and whether people were safe from abuse.

The report further criticised the failure to treat residents as individuals and said people were staying for years in centres intended for short-term care. It added that there were "lessons to be learned" by care providers about the employment of restraint and an "urgent need" to reduce its use.

More of the week's headlines

HIV quad pill 'may improve care' (BBC News, Friday 29 June

Unity festival promotes disability arts (BBC News, Thursday 28 June)

Defendants with learning difficulties 'need help to get fair trial' (The Guardian, Thursday 28 June)

Can new Nice guidelines improve care for adults with autism? (The Guardian, Thursday 28 June)

BBC defends EastEnders bipolar storyline (BBC Newsbeat, Wednesday 27 June)

People with bipolar disorder may wait 13 years for diagnosis (BBC News, Wednesday 27 June)

Oppose assisted dying, says BMA (BBC News, Wednesday 27 June)

Unpaid carers cost economy £5.3bn, charity warns (BBC News, Wednesday 27 June)

Dyslexia training for teachers needed, charity says (BBC News, Wednesday 27 June)

One from the heart: Charles Hazlewood's Paraorchestra (The Guardian, Wednesday 27 June)

Call handlers admit they could have done more to help mentally ill man who later died in police custody (The Independent, Wednesday 27 June)

Disability cuts: 'Thousands of us will become prisoners in our own homes' (The Guardian, Tuesday 26 June)

EEG brain trace 'can detect autism' (BBC News, Tuesday 26 June)

Role of stress in dementia investigated (BBC News, Tuesday 26 June)

Is surfing therapy for disabled? (BBC News, Tuesday 26 June)

In pictures: Art for Autism competition finalists (BBC News, Tuesday 26 June)

Man 'used home of blind friend' to store suspected mephedrone (BBC News, Tuesday 26 June)

How can blind people stay safe? (BBC News, Monday 25 June)

Voice algorithms spot Parkinson's disease (BBC News, Monday 25 June)

Talking Newspapers: How do you listen to a newspaper? (BBC News, Monday 25 June)

London 2012: Paralympic Games founder Professor Ludwig Guttmann's statue unveiled (BBC News, Monday 25 June)

Monique Van Der Horst may be stripped of medals by IPC as paraplegic has 'miracle' change to Olympian (The Telegraph, Monday 25 June)

Hypermobility syndrome: 'I feel brain-fogged. It's a cruelly deceptive illness' (The Telegraph, Monday 25 June)

Scientists to 'hack' Hawking's brain in bid to help him communicate more easily (Daily Mail, Sunday 24 June)

Care home whistleblowers increasing (BBC News, Saturday 23 June)

Tony Nicklinson: 'I have a fear of living like this when I am old and frail' (The Guardian, Saturday 23 June)

Parents and GPs 'must recognise' diabetes symptoms (BBC News, Saturday 23 June)

Multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Jack Osbourne, there is hope (The Telegraph, Friday 22 June)

Disabled people hit especially hard by cuts, finds report (The Guardian, Friday 22 June)

Woman seeking elective amputation takes next step (BBC News, Friday 22 June)

Man denies abusing deaf girl in cellar (The Guardian, Friday 22 June)

MP Charles Walker: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is 'like a hundred little blackmails a day' (The Telegraph, Friday 22 June)

Locked-in syndrome girl Eve Anderson, 9, makes progress (BBC News, Thursday 21 June)