Care workers caught abusing patients at a private hospital have been sentenced at Bristol Crown Court.

Admitting 38 charges of neglect or abuse, six staff members from Winterbourne View hospital have been jailed, while five were given suspended sentences.

Two nurses and nine support staff pleaded guilty to charges of neglect and ill-treatment of people with a learning disability.

Central-figure Wayne Rogers was jailed for two years after admitting nine counts of ill treating patients, while Alison Dove and Graham Doyle, who both pleaded guilty to seven charges of abuse, were jailed for 20 months.

Long-term abuse at the facility was uncovered by a BBC Panorama report in May last year, with charities since calling for an overhaul of local services and treatment.

Care and support minister Norman Lamb stated that the Department of Health would shortly publish its final recommendations to come out of the Winterbourne View case.

Mr Lamb said: ‘This terrible case has revealed the criminal and inhuman acts some so-called care workers are capable of. It has also shone a light on major flaws in the system which we will address. I want this case to reinforce to everyone, from frontline workers, to regulators, managers and board members, that they have a shared responsibility in preventing abuse of the vulnerable.'

A spokesperson from Mencap and The Challenging Behaviour Foundation said: ‘This must never happen again. Yet it is clear that the system is failing people with a learning disability. Mencap and The Challenging Behaviour Foundation are calling on the Government to drive through the closure of these institutions, and commit to developing local services so people with learning disabilities can live near their families in their local communities.'