BBC Panorama to screen abuse footage secretly filmed by care home resident's daughter

Four care home workers have been sacked at Ash Court Care Centre, in Camden, in relation to a case of physical abuse which occurred last year and resulted in Jonathan Aquino, 30, being jailed for 18 months at Blackfriars Crown Court earlier this month.

The BBC’s Panorama programme has confirmed that it will be screening footage tonight that was secretly filmed by the daughter of Maria Worroll, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The documentary says that the sacking of the four care workers is a result of owners Forest Healthcare having viewed the footage.

The case has parallels with that of Winterbourne View, in Bristol, which was the focus of an undercover investigation by Panorama last year, after which the mistreatment of residents with learning disabilities was aired and resulted in the care home’s closure.

Winterbourne View proved to be an embarrassment for care home regulator the Care Quality Commission, after the public body failed to act on the warning of a whistleblower. Although this is not the case with Ash Court Care Centre, the CQC is facing pressure to justify the ‘excellent’ rating it awarded the home three months before the attacks occurred, while being questioned as to why further service reviews failed to raise any alarm bells.

In a press release published by the CQC on 13 April, deputy director of operations Matthew Trainer commented:

“The abuse that the residents at Ash Court suffered was appalling. But abuse like this does not happen in front of management or our inspectors, so it is very difficult to detect. Once we has been alerted we immediately contacted Camden Council and the police and worked with them to make sure residents were safe. We inspected the home as soon as the police had completed their initial work, have kept a close eye on the home since our initial inspection, and have found no evidence that the abuse has been repeated.”