ITV News reported allegations of physical assault, sexual abuse, drug-taking and neglect at Blue Ribbon Healthcare Group services for adults with learning disabilities. The reporting spans multiple care homes and supported living facilities across the North West of England and raises questions about what was happening inside those services.
One family said their loved one with profound learning disabilities lived in a Blue Ribbon home for more than two years. They said they found him naked outside with his feet covered in sores in a pool of his own urine, faeces and vomit, and said paramedics were called later when he developed frostbite.
Daniel Hewitt and Blue Ribbon
Daniel Hewitt led the investigation for ITV News, working with Lili Donlon-Mansbridge. The reporting said several staff members were suspended after a resident with learning disabilities was allegedly bench-pressed and thrown across the room at one residential home, and police were called after that alleged assault.
At another supported living service, two staff were investigated for allegedly sexually abusing a vulnerable resident. ITV News said the two staff allegedly encouraged the resident to touch their breasts and buttocks. In another case, one carer was found to be regularly taking cocaine while on shift.
Blue Ribbon homes and whistleblowers
Multiple whistleblowers who worked for Blue Ribbon said residents were seriously neglected in filthy and dangerous conditions. One whistleblower said the conditions were ones they would not leave a dog in. An internal email seen by ITV News described one residential home as revolting.
The same email said one residential home was at risk of significant enforcement action if inspected. Blue Ribbon also runs Forevermore Care and Cade Care, and the company provides residential care and supported living for adults with learning disabilities, autism and other mental health conditions.
Blue Ribbon response
When approached by ITV News, Blue Ribbon did not deny that any of the incidents took place. It said many of the incidents do not reflect the information available to the company or are presented without important clinical, regulatory or factual context, and said other concerns relate to historic incidents that were thoroughly investigated at the time.
For families and residents in Blue Ribbon services, the immediate issue is not a headline but day-to-day safety inside the homes themselves. The reporting points to multiple allegations across different settings, and the unanswered question is what formal findings, if any, followed the alleged staff misconduct and neglect across Blue Ribbon's services.
