TEN years on from the exposure of a major hospital abuse scandal, families of the survivors have described the trauma still being felt by victims.

This month marks the tenth anniversary of a shocking BBC Panorama investigation at Winterbourne View Hospital, near Bristol.

Distressing undercover footage was aired of disabled people repeatedly being pinned down, slapped, taunted and teased.

Although the private hospital closed and several staff members were charged, survivors' families have spoken out about their ongoing worries about these institutions

One of the families is Claire Garrod, from Bedale, and Emma Austin-Garrod, from Newcastle.

Claire’s son and Emma’s brother, Ben, was in Winterbourne View from 2009 to 2010 and was injured there several times.

Ben is now 30 and his diagnoses include a learning disability and autism - and he now suffers from PTSD

His family said: “We’re shattered by the realities of all that has happened to a dearly-loved son and brother, a man who never deserved to face the agonising trauma that mars his every day.

"Whilst we fight daily for him, and us, to get the support needed to recover and move on from the trauma this has caused; we’re faced with the agonising reality that Ben, and his life, could have been so much different had his admission to Winterbourne View been avoided all those years ago.”

Analysis by Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) revealed today that there are at least 102,010 recorded reports of restrictive practices used in mental health facilities since October 2018, when figures were first reported.

This is equivalent to one used every 12 minutes.

These practices include physical restraint, chemical cosh and solitary confinement, since October 2018 when figures were first reported and is equivalent to one used every 12 minutes.

Mencap and CBF say these figures are likely to be ‘the tip of the iceberg’ due to low numbers of hospitals providing data, despite it being mandatory.

Edel Harris, chief executive of Mencap, says: “It is unforgivable that over the last decade the Government has broken promise after promise which has left people with a learning disability and/or autism stuck living in assessment and treatment units when they should be living at home.

"For people and their families to have been through such horrors and for so little to have changed is deplorable.

“There has been abuse scandal after abuse scandal in mental health hospitals up and down the country, and it is highly likely that abuse still occurs in many of these institutions today."

Vivien Cooper OBE, CEO of the CBF, added: “The messages from the families who have shared their experiences 10 years after the abuse at Winterbourne View was exposed are stark and clear – however you look at it, care has not been transformed.

"Think what can be achieved in ten years – then consider how little has changed for so many people with learning disabilities and autistic people whose behaviour challenges.

"I hope that those in positions of power and influence, those who have high status and whose job it is to deliver the transformation of care, read these accounts and reflect on the devastating and lasting impact inappropriate admission has on children, adults and families – and how that impact and the consequences continue, year in, year out.

"We know what to do, what works, and how to do it – we need strong leadership, and people with the will, skills and determination to make this a priority and take action.”