A PRIVATE hospital owned by Irish investors John Magnier, JP McManus, Dermot Desmond and Denis Brosnan, where staff were secretly filmed by the BBC abusing patients, is to be closed, it has been announced.
The Winterbourne View hospital in Bristol in England will close on Friday once all of the remaining patients are transferred to other institutions, a spokesman for the owners, Castlebeck Ltd, said last night.
The BBC Panoramaprogramme last month broadcast secretly taped film showing a number of staff at Winterbourne abusing patients who suffer from learning disabilities, where one was urged to commit suicide.
Two nurses have been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council pending full investigation. Gloucestershire police arrested 11 people following the allegations. All have been released on bail.
Winterbourne is part of the Castlebeck Group, which was bought for in 2006 for £255 million by the Swiss-based Lydian Capital Partners, which was set up by Mr Brosnan as a private investment company. He was joined as an investor in Lydian by Mr McManus, Mr Desmond and Mr Magnier, along with others.
Following the Panoramainvestigation, the owners ordered an investigation into Winterbourne's operations and the other hospitals in the Castlebeck group.
