Man who suffered abuse in Devon care home awarded damages

Residents were held in punishment rooms at Veilstone care home

A man with learning disabilities who suffered abuse and trauma in a Devon care home has been awarded damages.

The man, known as Ben, 32, lived at Veilstone care home near Bideford between 2010 and 2011 after being moved from Winterbourne View.

The High Court heard Devon County Council and the NHS accepted his care was "wholly inadequate" and a breach of his human rights.

Both bodies have apologised to Ben and his family, the court heard.

In 2017, 12 managers and carers were convicted of mistreating residents at Veilstone, who were routinely punished by being held in empty rooms without food, heating or a toilet.

The court heard distressing details of the treatment Ben received at the care home, including being held in a so-called "quiet room".

He had been locked in this room 117 times and, while there, had been denied access to a toilet.

The judge, Ben Douglas-Jones KC, said the claimant spent hours in "urine-soaked clothes" and was forced to sleep on the floor or a mattress.

Emma Austin-Garrod said her brother Ben was "let down so badly"

He said "nothing was done" to prevent him from self-harming.

His family were denied visits or phone calls when Ben "hadn't complied with staff orders", the judge added.

'High price'

Details of the amount of damages awarded to Ben remain confidential.

However, Ben's mother Claire was awarded £10,000 in damages, which the judge said was recognition of the "suffering" she endured.

Emma Austin-Garrod, Ben's sister, said outside court said the family were "traumatised" by the ordeal, but they were "relieved" a settlement had been reached.

She said the social care system had "let him down so badly".

"When the system fails, it is people with learning disabilities and their families who pay a high price, with little or no accountability by those responsible," she said.

"The apologies and acknowledgement that breaches of human rights occurred for Ben, and for our mother, are important to us."