Intolerable Cruelty
The Panorama programme earlier this week - which exposed the cruelty and abuse of vulnerable adults in residential care - performed a public service for which we should all be grateful.
But the way in which the authorities now react will be the acid test - because the problem has been with us for years.
Punishing and locking up the perpretrators is the easy part.
But it doesn't deal with underlying issue - which is the ability of 'carers' to bully, abuse and act with intolerable cruelty - towards vulnerable adults and others in their charge.
Go back a few years and - as with child abuse - you will find depressing examples of vulnerable young people and adults being abused - in what is supposed to be their home from home.
And the problem is not confined to the private or voluntary sectors.
A few years ago Kerelaw School - a residential establishment for 'looked after'children in Ayrshire, but run by Glasgow City Council - had to be shut down because of complaints about the standards of care and behaviour of staff.
The answer lies not in a knee jerk response - because without more deep seated changes the same thing will just happen again and again - as it has up until now.
So surely the time has come for public areas of these establishments to be monitored routinely - so that undercover surveillance is not the only way to expose the bullies and abusers.
Now this is not a foolproof solution, of course.
Because monitoring cannot be done routinely in private areas - such as bedrooms and bathrooms.
Though it seems obvious that extra sets 'eyes and ears' in these institutions - 24/7 - would help discourage all but the most determined abuser.
For sure it raises issues about the 'privacy' of staff - but the much greater priority is the safety and well-being of the residents.
But the way in which the authorities now react will be the acid test - because the problem has been with us for years.
Punishing and locking up the perpretrators is the easy part.
But it doesn't deal with underlying issue - which is the ability of 'carers' to bully, abuse and act with intolerable cruelty - towards vulnerable adults and others in their charge.
Go back a few years and - as with child abuse - you will find depressing examples of vulnerable young people and adults being abused - in what is supposed to be their home from home.
And the problem is not confined to the private or voluntary sectors.
A few years ago Kerelaw School - a residential establishment for 'looked after'children in Ayrshire, but run by Glasgow City Council - had to be shut down because of complaints about the standards of care and behaviour of staff.
The answer lies not in a knee jerk response - because without more deep seated changes the same thing will just happen again and again - as it has up until now.
So surely the time has come for public areas of these establishments to be monitored routinely - so that undercover surveillance is not the only way to expose the bullies and abusers.
Now this is not a foolproof solution, of course.
Because monitoring cannot be done routinely in private areas - such as bedrooms and bathrooms.
Though it seems obvious that extra sets 'eyes and ears' in these institutions - 24/7 - would help discourage all but the most determined abuser.
For sure it raises issues about the 'privacy' of staff - but the much greater priority is the safety and well-being of the residents.
