A BRITISH CHAIN of care homes for people with learning disabilities owned by a group of famed Irish investors has been warned that it must either make serious improvements to the standard of its services or to face closure.

The Castlebeck group, which owns 23 homes across England and Wales, was told to instigate “root and branch improvements” by Britain’s Care Quality Commission (CQC), which made unannounced visits to each service.

Of the 23 homes, inspectors found “serious concerns” at four facilities, as well as identifying another seven which were “not compliant with one or more of the essential standards of quality and safety”.

The CQC’s report also found evidence of “company-wide themes” including inadequate staff training and staffing levels, a failure to notify the relevant authorities about safeguarding incidents and a generally poor standard of care planning.

The Irish Times explains that the group had come to prominence after a BBC Panorama investigation in May which uncovered abusive treatment towards patients at one of its homes in Bristol.

That home, Winterbourne View, has since been closed down.

The Irish Independent said that the Castlebeck group is 80 per cent owned by a group of investors that includes JP McManus, John Magnier and Dermot Desmond. It is run by Denis Brosnan, a former CEO of the Kerry Group.

Brosnan told that paper he was “appalled” at the conditions found by the inspectorate.