Sir Robert Buckland, MP for South Swindon and Chair of the All-Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability, partnered with Mencap to commemorate Learning Disability Week.
Speaking at Mencap’s reception in Parliament, Sir Robert engaged with people, families, and carers and pledged support to end the inappropriate detention of individuals with learning disabilities and/or autism in mental health hospitals due to inadequate community care and support.
Shockingly, over 2,000 people in England with learning disabilities and/or autism are detained in mental health hospitals, with an average stay exceeding five years. Many face over-medication, inappropriate restraint, and seclusion making them vulnerable to abuse and neglect.
Currently, NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire have 30 adults with learning disabilities and/or autism in inpatient units.
Following the exposé of the Winterbourne View abuse scandal by BBC Panorama 12 years ago, the government vowed to transform care and facilitate the transition of individuals with learning disabilities and/or autism back into their communities with appropriate support.
However, targets have been consistently missed. The latest commitment from the government and NHS is to reduce the number of individuals in mental health hospitals by half by March 2024. Unfortunately, Mencap estimates that the government is on track to miss this target by four years, with the earliest possible achievement being November 2028.
During the reception, families of those inappropriately detained in mental health units shared their stories and demanded urgent action to end this human rights scandal. They called for a revamped Government Action Plan, collaborating with individuals with learning disabilities and professionals in the sector to identify necessary actions for meaningful change – supporting individuals to live in their communities with the right support, close to their loved ones.
Sir Robert Buckland emphasised the distressing situation and called on the government to review and strengthen the Building the Right Support Action Plan saying “as chair of the All-Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability, I am glad to be supporting Mencap in highlighting this distressing situation, which needs to end.
He went on to stress the importance of providing timely and appropriate support in the community, focusing on early intervention and prevention, “I am calling on the government to urgently review and strengthen the Building the Right Support Action Plan to ensure that people with a learning disability and/ or autism get the right support at the right time in the community, with an important focus on early intervention and prevention.”
Beckii Davis, whose brother Elliot was inappropriately detained for 4.5 years, is one of the many campaigners advocating for an end to this cruel treatment. She shared the hardships faced during their fight to free Elliot, expressing the lasting impact on his well-being and their trust in the system.
“I was told by Elliot’s community nurse, it wouldn’t be for long, they would review his medication and he’ll be in and out.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and he was in a mental health hospital for 4 and a half years.
“The fight to get Elliot out was the hardest fight I have ever been in. No matter how hard I tried, what we were saying was falling on deaf ears.
“We were made to feel that we had no idea, although we had over 20 years’ experience and know Elliot better than anyone. Elliot was harmed, misunderstood, and segregated.
“When Elliot becomes distressed now; he automatically puts himself on the floor so that he doesn’t get hurt. It lives within him daily.
“I struggle to trust that no one will cause him harm.”
Mencap’s analysis, based on NHS data and current trends, reveals that a reduction of 615 individuals with learning disabilities and/or autism would be necessary.
Achieving this would require quadrupling the monthly reduction rate, making it nearly impossible for the government to fulfill its promise.
