The Panorama revelation of violence, bullying and humiliation of patients with learning difficulties contained chilling echoes of events a couple of decades ago at Longcare, a large learning disability institution near Slough

The BBC were contacted after a worker's calls to the Care Quality Commission and the local safeguarding board had been ignored.

And film brought the horror home very directly. Longcare victims were not filmed although court proceedings and a local journalist helped to bring the case to public attention His book on the subject has just been updated copies are available at http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/index.php/longcare-survivor/. Longcare led to one of many reports on institutional abuse of people with learning disability, but it seems we still have not learnt from it.

In the recent case the care watchdog had inspected the hospital three times recently, failing to spot any abuse.  They just don't get it.  That's because inspections require form filling and inspectors don't listen in private to patients.

On their website they proclaim "we cannot investigate your individual complaint." I wonder why?  I have learnt as an MP that how an institution reacts to complaints tells you exactly what it is like.

And when someone cannot speak for themselves it can be too easy for people in charge of them to be cruel.  I remember a discussion with learning disabled residents of a group home.  They were asked what had changed since they were listened to: "Now we each have our own toothbrush" was the shocking reply.

This Sunday I joined a barbeque organised by constituents who lived in the same block.  I was not their only guest, they also invited people with learning disabilities from a nearby group home.  If more of us followed this example and bothered to get in touch with vulnerable neighbours they might be better protected and live happier lives.