Latest statistics from NHS England show over 2000 people with a learning disability and autistic people are still stuck in mental health hospitals. Many are there not because they need inpatient mental health treatment - they're there because there’s nowhere else for them to go.

We know people have experienced unspeakable abuse and neglect in these hospitals – people have had bones broken, been left covered in bruises and experienced lasting trauma. Our Homes Not Hospitals campaign has been fighting for years to end this injustice.

The government promised to end the inappropriate detention of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals by bringing in changes through the Mental Health Bill.

However, they have said this key change will only be ‘switched on’ when the sufficient community support is in place. But the government had not set out how they would ensure this happens any time soon.

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Thanks to your support and the tireless efforts of campaigners, families, and MPs like Jen Craft, the government has now committed to developing a plan to deliver this change in the law . 

In an important debate on the Mental Health Bill recently, Jen Craft MP tabled an amendment that would require the government to create a road map setting out how it would put in place the right community support to enable the changes in the Bill to be ‘switched on’.

In response, the government promised to work with people with lived experience to develop a ‘road map’ to deliver this change.

We’re pleased to see this commitment from the government, but we’ll keep pushing for urgent action so people with a learning disability and autistic people can live in homes, not hospitals.

Thank you for your continued support.

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Your donation powers change

£10

could help to provide support for someone calling us for information and advice. 

£50

could help offer guidance to someone on the reasonable adjustments they are entitled to in healthcare settings.

£250

could help pay for our media team to support a family member to tell their story in the national media about their loved one being detained in a mental health hospital and call for change.

£500

could help us create mental health resources in a format that is accessible for people with a learning disability who are struggling with their wellbeing.

£1000

could help us campaign to ensure that those people with a learning disability who are eligible for social care are able to access the vital support that is available.

£5,000

could help a family to receive sustained specialist legal advice and casework support to free a loved one who is currently trapped in an Assessment Treatment Unit.

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Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for their generous grant, funding this work.