Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

So upset and disturbed by this program. I hope that the people who called themselves 'carers' are now in prison or being prosecuted. The patients aren't being treated as human beings, not even as dogs. It's so horrible it's so sad that there are people like that out there.

i think tonight's show was discusting and all the care workers should be jailed for what they have done . shame on all of u . it made my heart sore to watch that .

I struggled to watch the whole programme tonight as I was so angry at the treatment that these poor people had to suffer at the hands of these bullies. I hope the bullies are locked up for their behaviour as if they behaved like this outside the hospital it would clearly be assault and dealt with appropriately. I hope all the vulnerable people involved are now safe and receiving the appropriate care to meet their needs and not living in fear anymore.

We have been watching tonight's panorama, and cannot believe what we are seeing. I hope we learn that all the staff at the care home winterbourne view have been sent to prison for assault. It is unbelievable. Appalling behaviour to vulnerable people. People should have qualifications and CCTV on them working in any type of home. Thank you panorama for exposing these pathetic cowards

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I hope the managers and those who ultimately responsible for the places shown and any similar are utterly ashamed of themselves.

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I have found this documentary both disturbing and extremely upsetting.It is awful.Having worked in a care environment as a qualified nurse I am horrified.This has to be stopped.We were all horrified when, afew years ago we watched the care institutions for orphans in Rumania .This is easily on a par !Please tell me that someone is going to act on Panoramas documentary .Horrified !

This programme is awful I feel sick just watching this, I am a carer and a student nurse and I have to say that I don't know a single person that would act like this. clearly this programme highlights that there are issues in care that need sorting these services push for more and more profit and yet the carers are paid just over min. wage and expected to work over the legal limit of hours per week, while the poor patients end up paying for their care. I also have to say that there are lovely carers and nurses out there that do care and do make a difference!!!

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I have been nursing for 31 years , I cannot believe the abuse the service users received from their carers. Well done to the one who exposed them. It cannot have been easy. Unbelieveable how cruel those 'carers' were.

I am horrified that these people dare to call themselves carers and are simply mean wicked bullies, paid to look after those who more often have been taken forcibly by the state from their homes. These vulnerable people need our love and support, these seems like scenes from centuries ago. We should know better, frankly I wouldn't have employed any of them from their manner and attitude, but many of these care homes operations are the latest way of making money. I feel desperate for the parents of these children who trusted these homes.

After watching the first 30 minutes of Panorama's 'Undercover care: The abuse exposed', I had to switch of the tv as I was reduced to tears. The scenes shown were utterly shocking. The "care" these vulnerable people have been subjected to is unbelievable. I am so grateful to the male senior nurse shown in the program for coming forward and exposing the truth behind this home. Can anyone comment on the outcome for the "carers"?

I can really not believe what I have just seen, these people need to be punished it is utterly disgusting behaviour.

I am currently watching tonights Panorama, and I am totally saddened and disgusted from what I have watched so far. These people deserve to be exposed for what they are - bullies. The staff cannot even hold up the argument that they have not been adequately trained; this is brutality at its highest degree. I can only assume that a police investigation has been instigated, as these people deserve to be behind bars!!!
I praise care workers around the country who treat their job as a vocation and continue to provide a service for the vunerable in our society. The Government must act immediately to eradicate these EVIL individuals from our care system.

Is Castlebeck serious?

These staff members are football hooligans not carers?

I feel physically sick that these poor excuses for human beings are allowed to take our their insecurities on patients with real problems.

If the regulators won't judge these people who will?

i am proud and honoured to work with people with learning disabilities. i have had some of the greatest moments of my professonal career with the people i support. I am proud to work for Mencap and we campaign and fight for people's rights and against abuse. This kind of abuse and treatment MUST be stopped! this programme made me feel sick!

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This has been the most distressing thing I have ever seen in my 18 years of nursing! I hope the nurses in this programme are struck off by the nmc and the so called support workers never work again!

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I had tears in my eyes. Well done to expose, but your job is half done.

Panorama Team,

You need to follow this up and let us know whether those animals (they cannot be humans) have been charged or not.

Unfortunately, The Govt turns a blind eye for such events. Does David Cameron or Nick Clegg watch this???

Having worked in the care field for nearly 30 years mostly with elderly dementia i am ashamed to be part of a system that lets this happen. These so called carers need locking up maybe in a tough prison where there are tougher people than them. I am sorry i wouldn't normally wish bad on anyone but these scum reduced me to tears and so angry. Also those of us who care and take a pride in our work may be tarred with the same brush. The nurse who reported them should have been listened too. It's easy being tough when the people are vulnerable. I feel so sorry for the victims and their families and hope the abusing scum get what they deserve. Thank God there are still good people in the caring profession but if we see and witness anything that resembles abuse we must not hesitate to report it.

everyone deserves respect and a feeling of being wanted and loved. humanity has reached yet another new low. do unto yourself as you do to others. How someone can film this and not intervene is beyond me... hope he gets his award. Shame on all of you.

I am absolutely disgusted by the undercover producer’s lack of action in the context of this documentary. By simply watching and recording Joe can be strongly considered complicit in the abuse himself as he had the power to immediately stop this and immediately report it to the proper authorities.

Panorama has exposed the systematic abuse of our most vulnerable people by unqualified bullies, while "nurses" watch on and do nothing and Senior management ignore the complaints of a whistleblower. Who selected these carers? Were they trained? Were they monitored? The CQC did not find any areas of concern.....well, they would'nt. The so called Hospital was rotten and stinking to the core while these poor residents suffered, both mentally and physically. And as usual, when interviewed, those responsible for the care of these residents muttered the usual pathetic response.."lessons will be learned".

If this is a reflection of what goes on, then as a society we need to be really concerned.

I came into the programme half way through and it still reduced me to tears. If a society is judged by how it treats its weakest members then we should all be ashamed.

I can't believe what I am watching - can someone please explain to me which of the people in this film have the learning disbility?! These poor patients deserve better. How can a council or the government for that matter have powers to take these patients from their families and put them into an environment that is a living hell - and seemingly the families have no say in the matter. Shame on this country, Local Government, this Government and previous governments for allowing this sick form of abuse to go on an on. We interfere in other countries' problems and finger wag about their poor human rights records and we can't even get our own house in order. And as for the so called carers, they need to be rounded up and sacked immediately and never be allowed to work in any positions of trust. I'm sick of lengthy investigations and white papers that white wash the bloody obvious and procrastinate in favour of the abuser. For gods sake some stand up and deal with this. These poor, poor people and their families - I hope that they will start being treated with decency, respect and understanding very soon if not immediately. I'm left feeling so angry and so sad.

I was shocked and angry when I saw it, so so angry, but when I saw the parents seeing their children getting tortured and hurt like that it broke my heart. Any parent who loves and protects their child would die inside to see them suffer like that. I don't know what else to do but cry. Bloody well ruined my good nights sleep!

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I was/am so frustrated by your undercover reporter for not once stepping-in. I know he was there to film the going's-on. However he was also employed to look-out for the patients. Shame on him!

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Absolutely shocked by the level of abuse these poor people suffered. Watched the programme open mouthed. How your reporter stopped himself intervening I will never know. Lets hope all of the "staff" are prosecuted and can never "care" for anyone again.

i would like to know why at the end when that girl was being repeatedly tortured and your undercover agent didnt intervene or call the police at that point in time i just felt like it went too far and it wasn't just gathering evidence to bring abusers to justice it became you making a shocking program. Not happy would like to know why.

i'm absolutely disgusted at the behaviour of those carers; how is it acceptable to treat another human being that way?!

"A society is ultimately judged by how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members."

I always thought 'Lord of the Flies' was an exaggeration, but after seeing tonight's Panorama. I've changed my opinion.
Without control, people revert to the Law of the Jungle.
The control in this case amounts to no control.
To not see this level of structural misbehaviour, you'd have to try really hard..
It's left me all rather saddened.

Just watched Panorama, I am very upset, the people who carried out such terrible acts of abuse should be sent to prison, if they did this out on the street they would be charged with GBH. I thank Panorama for bringing this out into the public domain and encourage any carer who suspects even the slightest case of abuse to "Whistleblow" they dont have to do this in house they can report to many agencies. All residential homes should have a mnual with phone numbers and contact details to make the report to. The one thing I have to say is the first sign of Abuse in this film should have been enough for the reporter to state who he was and stop any further degredation and hurt to the people being filmed. At the first sign he should have phoned the police and not carried on filming then at the end when the young lady was put through such terrible mental and physical abuse would not have happened.

After watching 30 mins of the programme, I felt that it was very disturbing. The secret camera man should ordered the carers to stop the abusive behavior in their facilities. I do not understand how the camera person could watch that happening beneath his nose and talk about it afterwards. However, action should of took place after one event and it didn't, it shouldn't be stretched for a week of documentary.

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oh my god, as a registered nurse I am absolutely horrified watching tonights programme. Am in tears watching that. It is totally unacceptable. I only hope the abusers are never, ever in a position where they are able to do this again. As for suitable 'punishment' - I wonder.. a few hours community service, a fine??? or just sacked from a job they were not equipped to do and didnt deserve in the first place. Their behaviour is vile and inexcusable. And the so called 'nurses' are no better and should be struck off.

I cannot believe that this behaviour is allowed to go on. The most upsetting thing is that the small number of individuals who appear to be the main culprits are not stopped, or even questioned by any of the other carers. I wonder if any of them have tried to stand up for the patients, or if they all stand idly by? Every single person who works in that place and knows this abuse goes on - even if they have not commited the abuse themselves - are equally responsible for the continued suffering of the patients. I wonder how well they sleep at night?

Thank you panorama for investigating this thoroughly and bringing out into the open! I was upset and saddened that this level of abuse has been allowed to occur in a healthcare setting! Being a nurse myself i am ashamed that they have been practicing as part of out profession and it highlights the need for registration and regulation of support workers and healthcare assistants! We are in 2011 and there is no excuse for this practice exist anymore!

Having just watched this Panarama episode, I am absoulutly disgusted at what I have just seen. It was nothing but torture on those poor defenseless patients. I just hope that justice will come to all those thugs involved and they get what they deserve!

Harrowing. Appalling. Utterly shocking. Well done, Panorama - but how many others like this are there? Whistleblowing hotlines are all very well, but how often do we hear (particularly in the NHS) of whistleblowers being sacked and/or excluded and victimised? How often are these regulators going to continue to make 'misjudgements' such as we saw in hospitals and the financial sector. When are we going to investigate these inadequate regulators?

i was shocked and dissgusted to see the treatment of these poor defencless peopel and the hands of the so called carers, as a care worker myself i was at one point so angre at what i was seeing i was in tears, and i beleive that the staff in question should have been sacked not just mearly suppended.

Just watched Panorama, what hell those young people have had to endure, i was in tears for the last 30 minutes, all that kept me watching was the hope that those who abused, got locked up for a long time well i don`t know but please god make sure they do because there is no room in this world for those sick and evil --------

I was appalled by the actions of these so called professionals supposedly looking after the needs of vulnerable adults. How dare they!! I have worked in the care industry for more than twenty years at all levels from Care Assistant to Registered Nurse to Care Home Manager and have never seen anything like it. I was moved to tears of sadness and anger. I hope every last one of these animals are severely dealt with. My heart goes out to those who suffered at the cruel hands of these bullies and I only hope that their lives now are much happier and less traumatic. I hope the owners of this home have also been targeted and that the Regulating Bodies are ensuring that ALL complaints are investigated thouroughly to ensure the safety of those special people in our society who look to us to ensure they are safe from harm and well looked after

thankyou panorama for showing what has really been going on behind closed doors what wicked wicked people how on earth was this allowed to go on for so long!!!!!!

I am absolutely disgusted and appalled at what i saw on this documentary, that they are treated so badly like animals is shocking and awful. I felt upset and distressed that people allow this to go on, i hope that something is done and that all the carers that treat patients like this or just sit and let it happen beacuse they are too lazy, get their comeuppance. But thanks Panorama for bringing it to our attention. Keep it up.

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I was so angry watching how these bullies picked on people who couldn't defend themselves. Every swear word was coming out as I was shouting at the tv...who do these people think they are? I want to hear what happens to them and I hope it's more than just losing their jobs...I know it must have been hard to stand by and film and not try and stop it but at least its brought it to light. I hope these "staff " members get what they deserve...

A terribly shocking programme showing how very little progress has been made in some areas of caring for those with learning disabilities. Why are these people in a 'hospital' setting at all? All completely unnecessary. But where on earth was the supervision, management, training? This level of abuse could not possibly have gone un-noticed.

Hi. I've just watched this program, of which I was totally disgusted that the actions and behaviour of these people have effected these poor individuals both physically and emotionally! The staff who operated at this particular care home need to be investigated deeply by the police. They need to all be charged with assult on multiple counts for what they have done to these individuals at this care home. I would also like prosecutions to be forced upon the CQC who were given the information and disguarded it. Apologies are not good enough. As for the person (Joe) who recorded the secret filming I believe he was in a situation of great anguish which I would not have been able to do. I think that his filming will now help eliminate this sort of abuse of power, trust and vunerability in all care homes. I just couldn't believe what these poor individuals had been put through.

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col your comment is so true - when the undercover reporter talked about witnessing the abuse and being the only one not joining in, I was wondering what his limit would be? - how far could the other "carers" have pushed the abuse before he would have stopped thinking about the program, and just spoken out so that the abuse could stop. I hope we still live in a society where the vast majority of the population would not have been able to stand by watching that.

I normally dont log onto these sort of things and post my thoughts, but this had both me and my husband in floods of tears, not just for the poor souls who have been putting up with this abuse for so long, or because of the thought of the families having to look back and watch all this, but because I was so physically angry and outraged! I tried to search for the Castlebeck Winterbourne View site on Google, only to realise that only 10 minutes before I had clicked search, the site had been removed. I have posted my views to the CQC and hope to hear from them soon. I think the full names of these "carers" should be released. If they feel so empowered beating and torturing such helpless people, then they should have to deal with the consequences of the outside world. I understand the Police are looking into some cases, but the people who have been suspended or released without interrogation should be named and shamed fully. My husbands cousin is mentally ill at the age of 31 and I know that if this had been him being abused, I wouldnt even contemplate holding back. My heart goes out to the families of these people as well as the people themselves. To have to pay so much per week, and to work every hour god sends to provide a good, safe home for their loved ones, and to then find out this had been happening, I could not even begin to imagine. I have never been so outraged in all of my life and looking at the response on Twitter and Facebook, I know I am not the only one to feel like this.

This sort of abuse is more than shamefull for the management of this care home they should not keep on apologising they totally failed to do their duties I am a carer as well any bruise of resident should be reported i wonder why the management didn't get suspcious with the bruises. All these carers should go behind bars not community service and after serving they should not go on benefits.
I was in tears when watching this.

As a Learning Disability Nurse I have worked with people with similar needs for many years. It is with sadness that I see that the care for people with a learning disability within a regulated home is so poor. Years of lack of investment, an almost total withdrawl of nurse training and a misplaced trust in the private sector have contributed to scenes such as these. The regulatory checks rely heavily on inspectors checking such things as fridge temperatures, menu records, bedroom sizes and decor, all important things but don't show how staff interact with the people they care for. It makes me so angry to see such institutional abuse. I don't work in residential care anymore, inspections, poor senior management who looked at balance sheets instead of proper care and as a manager of the home with my name on the registration certificate if anything went wrong I was responsible not the company I worked for. When is someone going to stand up for the most vulnerable people in society and demand better care?

As I work in residential care I found this program quite upsetting, I agree that the 'care staff' acted in a totally unacceptable manner. I was mortified that the reporter did not intervene. I know that 'he had a job to do' but how long did it take to obtain this evidence?
Bravo for Panorama for uncovering this sytematic abuse, and shame on CQC and the managers/owners of Castlebeck Care.

This programme has left me really shocked and upset, I feel so angry towards the so called "carers". I hope that action will be taken towards these people. Why on earth did they want to go into this profession? I don't know how the undercover reporter lasted for the 5 weeks and feel that filming should not of gone on for so long. The people at the very top whom it was reported to 3 times should feel utter shame.

Thank you panorama for exposing this despicable behaviour. I hope that your journalist Joe recieved some support for the disgusting assaults he witnessed. I hope that all abusive employees featured in this programme are criminally prosecuted. Winterbourne View is the tip of a very large iceberg, where institutional abuse is tolerated by even the highest government bodies. Our society is culpable for accepting this behaviour towards fellow human beings. Change begins at home, teach your young children to respect human rights, to be tolerant of difference and promote that tolerance to their peers. You can also provide weekend respite to some adults or children with LD very easily. If you found this programme sickening, please do something to change it. Thank you.

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I am appalled at the abuse and torture I have witnessed on tonights Panorama. However, I am equally appalled that Panorama continued to film this abuse for over 5 weeks before doing anything to stop it. Shame on you for being complicit in perpetuating such a situation. There can be no excuse for Panorama not doing something sooner. Paul Kenyon was quick to level that allegation at CQC (justifiably so), but was also slow to prevent further abuse once sufficient evidence was obtained, simply for the sake of getting a better story? - I sincerely hope not.

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As someone who trains staff to work in Social Care I am proud to say we use the techniques that the expert Andy McDowell has developed for working with people who might challenge. What were the staff being PAID for???? They had no useful occupation - where were the managers - the owners. The staff were no better than animals. My son could end up in a similar situ in the future - heaven forbid - will I ever sleep for worry!!!. The Government and CQC MUST MUST find another way to inspect. Reading ficticious reports and "speaking" to people who work and live there will PROVE nothing. I don't have an answer but I will lobby to have pone found. Institutions are made by STAFF not the size of the building - it can happen in the community too - and that has much less inspection / regulation -- and with the cuts there will be less all round. Glad tohear that 5 staff have been arrested - the managers and CQC should be arrested TOO!

i like hopefully, most of the country, watched the disturbing documentary tonight, undercover care: the abuse. is there going to be a follow up to this programme,so us viewers can see or find out if the staff got bought to justice?? myself like probably everyone else,has found the documentary quite disturbing,im glad it has been shown,so we are aware this unacceptable behaviour happens,but at the same time,i wanted to see that the staff got brought to justice.

As a Registered Mental Health Nurse for almost 40 years - this programme has distressed me more than any other experience I have witnessed in my career.
A violent culture is insidious - when cruelty is perpetuated for amusement - then criminal prosecution should take its course.

The CQC failed in its responsibility utterly! I wish the programme makers had indicated what action was taken against the staff (other than the feeble CEO stating they were suspended) - be they Registered Nurses or Health Care Support Workers. The public need to know this behaviour never not goes unaddressed.
I currently work in the field of Safeguarding Vulnerbale Adults and teach awareness of the issue - I was sickened, angry and left in almost disbelief of what the programme disclosed. Thank heavens for programmes like Panaorama.

Sounds to me like the CQC needs to stop looking at residential and take a long hard look at itself, get its own house in order first. The rep from the CQC admitted they had the complaints and didn't take action - those staff at CQC who ignored the complaints should be sacked, as should anyone at the home's head office.
Only when people realise their own jobs will be on the line if they ignore serious complaints will they pull their fingers out.
And sadly, complacency isn't just the preserve of the private homes, Social Services are often just as bad.
Any and all complaints should be taken seriously and dealt with soonest, and not just popping in for an inspection but sending in undercover people.
Having worked in residential units both large and small, private and local authority, both my wife and myself were sickened to the core by what we saw in this programme.
The really sad thing is that in this day and age, thosed abusive staff will get nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Shame on you, how can you look friends, relatives, passers-by in the eye? these people are vunerable, and in your care and you let them suffer, from the very top of the ladder to the very bottom, each and everyone of you are responsible for every abusive degrading and tortuous action. Each and everyone of you knew it was going on and did nothing to stop it... you are ALL responsible and should/must be answerable AND accountable

Whilst this programme was absolutely shocking, I was very disturbed that the Panorama Team were working in this 'hospital' for 5 weeks when with the evidence gained on one shift could have closed this 'hospital' down immediately. The police should have been notified and these vulnerable people could have been saved 5 more weeks of violent assault.

This was one of the most disturbing programmes I have seen, Castlebeck Care......the care word should be used very loosely......they should be prosecuted, conspiracy......and the people who carried out the abuse and torture should be imprisoned sooner rather than later........and the Care Quality Commission have failed again, the most vulnerable people in society........and they should hang their heads in shame.........and the Cheif Executive should do his utmost to bring those guilty to court.........

I am shocked to have witnessed this programme. Formal training/qualification should be a must in this profession & any 'whistleblowing' must be done with confidence by cares for the authorities to take immediate action.. shocking & disturbing & thankfully one 'business' confronted by this programme. I give all the families & 'abused' my deepest sympathy.

I am absolutly disgusted I could barely bring my self to watch the programme all the way through.
These so called people who have been trusted to care for somebody else and they have 100% abused their position people trusted them how dare they, they are disgraces to society. How long has these Nurses and support workers identified in the programme been working in the care sector? how many different places have they worked? and How long have they been able to get away with such abusive behavoiur? This obviously aint the first time they have been abusive towards those who are vulnerable so what will be done?? Nothing? If i heard the word MISJUDGEMENT from that man who sits behind his desk shuffling papers again I was going to scream get off your back side and get into the field and do the job yourself so you can keep an eye on those who need to be watched. How many others is this happening to how many have got away with such abuse., More undercover inspectors need to get in and do the job for a few months turning up 'unannounced' to inspect the work place and workers aint enough you need to be involved in the work place for longer than a day. More needs to be done. People who are in a position of trust are generally the ones who abuse we know from examples made in the past learn from mistakes instead of repeating them....

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I have worked in the care sector for nearly 25yrs, 22 of those with learning disabilities, and now with elderly/dementia, I was so upset by this programe and although it is hard to believe that this goes on this day and age, I have never seen abuse to this degree, but have seen it and reported it, it was acted on at once and cqc acted at once also, these mini hospitals should not be allowed, small group community homes are better and so is the care, how do these abusers get through an interview in the first place? There are so many excellent carers out there and lovely care establishments. I hope these abusers are jailed and given a taste of thier own medicine.....but as a caring person i would not wish abuse on anyone

As nearly all people i am disgusted but unfortunatley not shocked at the amount of abuse suffered by these vunerable people. When will this country sit up and listen, this abuse has been going on for decades. As a daughter of a survivor of abuse i know the implications of what abuse can do to a persons life. The programme showed the old "care homes" from the 50s and 60s, i couldnt see any difference. I know many people who work in the care industry and would never dream of treating another human being like this. Why have we not learnt from other abuse cases??? Training, resourses, time management, case management. Im happy that panorama has brought this to the attention of the British public again, but please don't just "SWEEP THIS ABUSE UNDER THE CARPET". We need to stand up for the vunerable people in our society.

And if you try and leave any messages on Castlebeck Care's website.......you can't....the must have pre empted the backlash......cowards that they are.......they should have their licence taken away.......not suspended......taken off them......

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Oh my god! I am utterly, profoundly and completely in shock after watching your programme about undercover care. How dare those "so-called" experienced carers treat people in that way. This is disgraceful treatment of vulnerable people, but it would be just as disgraceful no matter what kind of people they were caring for. Those poor people. It has been heart breaking to watch but I was determined to watch to the end to make sure those staff members who were responsible for such wickedness were justifiedly punished by the judicial system.
What I don't understand is why these poor people were "forcibly removed" from places where they were cared for. Why on earth was that allowed to happen? I am dumbfounded by what I have seen. I have a brother who is in care and if I thought for 1 minute he was being treated in that way I would immediately take him out of the institution he is in and force legal proceedings. Fortunately, he is happy and healthy where he is. However, that should be the case for anyone in care. Why do these people take on jobs to be carers when that is clearly what they are not? I sincerely hope that the vulnerable people in Winterton are no longer being treated in this way now and are in happier circumstances or have been moved to somewhere where they are in happier circumstances. All I can say is thank god for your undercover reporters and for your programme being brave enough to report this.

why was this allowed

Having just watched tonight's programme, I feel angry and disgusted at what I have observed. I am not naive and know that this type of abuse sadly exists, but witnessing it in this way is truly shocking. Panorama have done an excellent job at bringing this to the attention of the public, but I feel strongly that the actions of these abhorent individuals should be strongly punished, and would welcome further feedback on how this has been achieved. The regulators of this type of residential care need to step back now and assess how and why their processes have failed, because 'sorry' is simply not acceptable for the patients or their families.

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i am just utterly appalled to see this tonight, i don't have the words to articulate just how upset i feel on watching.

Well Done to the team at Panorama, twenty years of working in care with some of the most fantastic carers, however it show reall failings in our Adult Social Care, and how we see Profit before Care?, This will not be the end of this if people want to make a change write to Quality Care Commision and to thier Local Members of Paraliment and ask them about our up and coming cuts to Adult Social Care and what it will mean for care in this country.

Congratulations BBC Panorama for exposing this horror. I expect each of these abusers to be charged by the police. The public must be protected from such violence. They must be prosectued and jailed. Not only should the families start proceedings against each of them and the private care home; the failed "care" home owners Castlebeck must take legal action against their staff. What was shown was torture, physical and psychological.

The regional CQC officials should resign or be sacked immediately. They've proven they have poor judgement and inadequate processes in place to protect the most vulnerable in our society. The CQC must start an immediate enquiry into their own performance and that of Winterbourne View and Castlebeck. I think everyone who watched Panorama tonight would like an update on how they intend to improve their procedures.

As this so-called "care facility" is privately owned but is funded by the taxpayer through the NHS - it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the current government proposed "reforms" further involving the private sector in providing healthcare would be a disaster!

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I have already posted on Facebook how I feel sick, angry and sad at this programme. I also feel for how desperate the man who whistleblew must have been - having written to management - the CQC on three occasions and then having to use a national TV programme to seek to gain support to action change.
My Mum has Dementia and has live in 24 hour care at home which I am fortunate that we can afford (receiving no real state support for this at £3k a month). I watched this programme with Mum, and her carer.....it opened eyes bur re-affirmed that in my opinion having Mum living cared for in a granny annex was the best provision I could have secured for her.....whilst also recognising that there are thousands of carers in the UK who go above and beyond for those they support

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I was absolutely appalled, distressed and deeply saddened by this programme. The behaviour displayed by the so-called "carers" was not only incredibly cruel and abusive, it was torture. It is digusting to consider that people could prey on anyone in the way that I witnessed on this programme, but the fact that their chosen victims were some of the most vulnerable people in society made it unbearable. I found the programme very disturbing and almost too difficult to watch, yet I watched it until the end to find out what happened to these awful people - will we find out? They should never, ever be allowed to work with vulnerable people again, and should face prison sentences and long stretches of community service. What was shown tonight was horrendous, and something needs to be done. In my naivety, I never realised people could be so cruel.

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my brother has a learning disability. this shows you cannot trust anyone - i will never ever put my brother into care - ever. disgusting, i hope these monsters are brought to justice - this is the worst abuse which as relatives of vulnerable persons we dread - it is truly the stuff of nightmares. what is happening to care homes? why are they such a hotbed to breed such callousness? who cares? certainly not the money making machines in the background -

This program made me ashamed to be a human being, the company and regularity authority should be shut down. Just imagine if that was your child. I care for my father and will do everything I can to keep him out of a place like this. I can't believe this sort of thing is going on in 2011.