"Jobs will be protected" says Castlebeck, following administration announcement (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

"Jobs will be protected" says Darlington-based Castlebeck, following administration announcement

6:35pm Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News By Hannah Bryan, Reporter (Darlington)

A CARE home provider at the centre of a national abuse scandal has reassured its staff that everything is being done to protect their jobs after it went into administration.

Darlington-based Castlebeck Care Ltd, which provides care for adults with learning disabilities and mental health problems, took the decision yesterday (Tuesday, March 5) - putting more than 900 jobs at risk across the country.

It operates 20 units across England and Scotland, with nine of the facilities in the North-East, including Darlington, Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool. They employ more than 330 people across the region.

Its head office employs 87 staff, most of which are based at the company’s base in Chestnut Street, in Darlington, with a further 126 working at the four facilities in the town.

A spokesman for Castlebeck said everything is being done to protect those employed by the company while a buyer is found for the firm.

He said: “The issues about individual staff is something that will be worked through over the next 30 days.

“It is too early to say, but for the vast majority of people there should be no great or serious impact. Everything that can be done will be done and they are all being talked to individually.”

He also reassured families of those with relatives at Castlebeck facilities that the quality of their care will not be affected.

“Everything is being done to safeguard their (the patients) interests and we will work hard to make sure that this is true for employees too,” he added.

The announcement came after one of the company’s facilities, Briar Court in Hartlepool, is being investigated by Hartlepool Borough Council following a “serious safeguarding incident” last week.

A council spokesman said: “The investigation by our adult safeguarding unit into the allegations concerning Briar Court in Hutton Avenue, Hartlepool, is on-going but the indications are that this is an issue that involves an altercation between two residents.”

Castlebeck Care Ltd hit the national headlines after 11 members of staff at the Winterbourne View home in South Gloucestershire, were sentenced for their roles in a "gross breach of trust and power" following an undercover expose by the BBC Panorama programme in 2011.

A former care worker who worked for company in Darlington, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m surprised they are going into administration. They just seemed to have the business in mind and not care about the people they looked after or those who worked for them.

“I also worked with some great staff who have gone on to decent positions within the company and it’s a shame they and those reliant on their care will be let down by this.”