Dundee’s Monroe House care home staff suspended

FIVE members of staff at a private care hospital in Dundee have been suspended following allegations of “inappropriate behaviour.”

The suspended members of staff are employed at the city’s Monroe House in Americanmuir Road - an independent hospital which provides assessment and intervention for men and women who have a learning disability or complex needs.

The hospital is run by Darlington-based Castlebeck Care.

A Castlebeck care home in Bristol was exposed by the BBC Panorama programme last year when a reporter was taken on as an unqualified support worker and filmed secretly for four weeks.

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The footage showed workers at the Winterbourne View unit, in Hambrook routinely slapping and kicking patients, pinning them to the floor and drenching them with cold water.

A spokeswoman for Castlebeck Care said: “We can confirm that five members of staff have been suspended pending full investigation of the facts of the allegations.”

She continued: “As a matter of policy and as part of our commitment to patient and staff confidentiality we do not comment on any individual matters or anything subject to a current police investigation. The team at Monroe House is committed to the safety and well-being of everyone cared for at the hospital and we have a zero-tolerance approach to any inappropriate behaviour by staff.

“In the event of any complaint of inappropriate behaviour we act immediately in line with standard and effective procedure. This would include the suspension of staff as appropriate. Suspension is normal practice in the healthcare sector under these circumstances, and is a ‘neutral’ act intended to protect the interests of all parties and facilitate a rigorous but speedy investigation of the facts.

“It is not therefore appropriate to comment further on specific allegations that may have no substance.”

She added: “We always work in close partnership with relevant parties including our regulator Healthcare Improvement Scotland, local Adult Support and Protection staff, and the police.”

Monroe House offers services for the care and rehabilitation of adults with learning disabilities, complex needs and challenging behaviour, including people with a mental illness. It has a multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and nursing staff.

A spokeswoman for Tayside Police said: “Tayside Police can confirm it has received a complaint about the conduct of members of staff at a care home in Dundee. Enquiries are at a very early stage and there is no further comment at this time.”