Page 11 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

SEN news 10 years on - thousands with learning disabilities and autism still in mental health hospitals Following the Winterbourne View scandal 10 years ago, which exposed the abuse of mental health patients in a private hospital near Bristol, the government and NHS England set reduction targets for the number of people held in ATUs. These targets were missed in 2019 and 2020, and have now been moved to 2024. So even now, more than 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autism are being held in assessment and treatment units (ATUs) in England. MPs marked the anniversary of the Winterbourne View scandal with a Westminster Hall debate, initiated by the Labour MP Barbara Keeley, a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee. “It’s 10 years since the scandal of Winterbourne View, when the abuse of people in a unit like that first came to light, and it is a complete failure of government to take the action that they pledged to do when that appalling abuse was revealed,” she told Sky News. “Why should autistic people and people with learning difficulties be treated this way? I want to show that they’re not invisible, that we do care, and that we are listening to their issues.” In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: “People with autism and those living with learning disabilities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and have the best possible quality of life in their community. “We are determined to continue to reduce the number of people with learning disabilities and autistic people in mental health hospitals and the reliance on inpatient care by investing in community services and supporting discharges with £62m.” BBC Report: Degrading human rights abuse allegations at residential special school An investigation by BBC Wales alleges that staff at a residential school in Ty Coryton (Cardiff) have subjected young, vulnerable children to degrading treatment, breaching their human rights and causing trauma.The scandal comes ten years after the BBC exposed similar institutionalised abuse at Winterbourne View. Whistle-blowers have described how children at Orbis Ty Coryton residential school were subjected to restrictions around money, food and sanitary products. They describe how expressions of distress from the children were met with regular restraint, seclusion and other abhorrent human rights violations. The Restraint Reduction Network has responded to this report: ‘we remain very concerned that similar issues to those described in the BBC Wales report in connection to Ty Coryton are constantly being identified on a day-to-day basis in other schools and services – those concerns are especially acute where children are involved. The government must act to reduce inequalities, and schools must take seriously their duty of care to provide the right culture and care that every human being deserves.’ Bild, a charity which champion the rights of autistic people and individuals with learning disabilities is calling for a number of measures in the light of the scandal: • The immediate implementation of the Reducing Restrictive Practice Framework in Wales, following previous consultation and co-production with people with learning disabilities, families and the Restraint Reduction Network (RRN). The RRN brings together people committed to the elimination of unnecessary restrictive practices across education, health and social care. • A statutory requirement for schools to record, report and reduce all restrictive practices (as seen in health and adult social care in England). It is deemed vital that the Welsh Government considers further strengthening the Reducing Restrictive Framework by making it the law across health, social care and education. Currently, the lack of such legal requirements leaves children at risk of abuse and neglect. • Strong leadership and better regulation of restrictive practices in school settings. Schools should only use restraint training that has been certified as complying with Restraint Reduction Network’s ethical training standards. Such standards provide a national and international benchmark for training in supporting people who are distressed in education, health and social care settings. • Schools to be informed and empowered to adopt preventative approaches, such as Trauma Informed Care and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), to ensure children and young people have their individual needs met and respected in a proactive, person-centred and trauma-informed manner. join us on facebook.com/senmagazine 11 senmagazine.co.uk SEN113