Woman's 'abusers' still at work

The council will not say where the men are now working

Two workers accused of abusing a disabled woman in care are still being employed by social services.

The woman, referred to as "Emily" in a report on the case, suffered a fractured skull, broken fingers, and cuts and bruises while she was at Bridge House in Southwark.

Her father said: "Those men should have been sacked right away - they're not fit to look after vulnerable people."

A report by the Local Government Ombudsman published on Friday, describes the care "Emily" received as "seriously deficient".

I had an anonymous call to say she'd been physically assaulted by two men

Emily's father

"Emily", who is now 39, is blind, has partial hearing, virtually no speech and severe learning difficulties.

Her father learnt of the abuse from a whistleblower.

"I had an anonymous call to say she'd been physically assaulted by two men.

"The person said, 'Your daughter is going through hell'."

Staff disciplined

The father's complaint to the Ombudsman sparked an investigation into assaults, which took place between November 1996 and May 1998.

The Ombudsman found that the council had failed to keep "Emily's" father properly informed and failed to tell the police about the assaults.

A statement from the council said: "We acknowledge the care provided to Emily fell short of acceptable standards.

Most importantly we need to listen to those in our care homes

Liz Atkins, NSPCC

"Members of staff who failed to provide acceptable care to Emily have been subject to disciplinary procedures."

The council has apologised to Mr Harvey and asked to meet him to discuss any outstanding concerns.

It refuses to say where the two men are now working.

Liz Atkins, head of policy and public affairs at the NSPCC, said she was appalled that the staff concerned are still in positions of trust.

"We need a much more open system, better training and supervision, but most importantly we need to listen to those in our care homes."

The council has now developed a detailed plan to improve the provision and quality of care to vulnerable adults.