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Cawston Park: Work needed to help vulnerable access care

Family handout Ben KingFamily handout
Ben King lived at Cawston Park for two years prior to his death

A health watchdog found work is needed to ensure vulnerable people have access to appropriate care where they live.

The study by Healthwatch Norfolk was triggered by a review of care following deaths at the now-closed Cawston Park hospital.

It looked specifically at residential care for those with learning disabilities and autism.

Issues at Cawston park were not "widespread" it found, but it made a number of care recommendations.

Cawston Park patients, Ben King, 32, Joanna Bailey, 36, and Nicholas Briant, 33, had all suffered neglect and abuse before their deaths, the report said.

John Spall, project manager for the My Views Matter study, said areas of improvement were identified, including a lack of what families called "good quality residential provision" in Norfolk.

It also identified a shortage of care workers and that Norfolk County Council declined to pay for some day services which residents found beneficial.

The study highlighted Norfolk's social care services are rated lower by the CQC than in most other parts of England, and "includes services that are not compliant with current standards".

Norfolk County Council is working to increase care provision with £18m made available to begin a project to meet demand, the report said.

Geograph/Evelyn Simak Cawston Park HospitalGeograph/Evelyn Simak
Cawston Park, pictured in 2007, had been in special measures since 2019

Recommendations included:

  • Staff developing relationships with residents based on shared interests
  • Mangers should ensure clear and honest communication with families
  • More could be done to consult people about the decoration of bedrooms and communal spaces in residential care environments
  • Homes should do more to support residents maintain friendships outside the home
  • More support to help elderly relatives visit
  • Make sure relatives get updates on care change requests

There were positive findings too around the quality of staff relationships, support around activities, and feedback from families praising the support.

Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said: "The publication of this report marks the end of a lot of hard work by our team. It is heartening that the worrying findings about care at Cawston Park are not echoed across Norfolk and we came across some good practice.

"Around a quarter of the people we spoke to wanted to see changes, however, and there were significant concerns around the high turnover of care staff and a shortage of suitable care placements."

He said Healthwatch would continue to work with partners and residents to improve care.

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