Third Castlebeck care home shut

17 August 2011 Last updated at 12:01 ET

Arden Vale cares for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities

A third care home run by a company at the centre of allegations of abuse against vulnerable patients is to close, it has been announced.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Castlebeck had agreed to close Arden Vale, in Meriden, near Coventry, by next Thursday.

Castlebeck said it was making other arrangements for the 19 residents.

The company owns Winterbourne View, in Bristol, where abuse was filmed by an undercover BBC Panorama journalist.

‘No evidence’

Since the BBC One programme was broadcast, the home for people with learning disabilities has been closed by the CQC.

And Castlebeck announced last week that it was to shut Rose Villa, also in Bristol, for “operational reasons”.

Arden Vale, which cares for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities, was the subject of legal action by the CQC after it inspected the facility in June.

The move would have prevented Castlebeck from operating at the .

Andrea Gordon, CQC’s regional director for the West and East Midlands, said it had taken action after seeing “no evidence” of the improvements to care it had demanded.

She said: “Castlebeck has responded to our action by agreeing to close the service on a voluntary basis.”

‘Minimum disruption’

Lee Reed, Castlebeck chief executive, said it agreed with the CQC’s report and would not appeal against the body’s decision.

He said: “We will be working with the people in our care at Arden Vale, as well as their families and care managers, to ensure that there is minimum disruption and that the right services are found for their needs.”

Thirteen members of staff were suspended from Winterbourne View before it closed, after Panorama filmed an undercover documentary there.

The footage showed residents being pinned down, slapped and taunted.

At Rose Villa, four people were suspended before last week’s closure announcement. Few details have so far emerged about why they were suspended.

— ’re ’s , . : A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.