Devon Safeguarding Adults Partnership has published its Safeguarding Adults Review into Atlas care homes.

On the 26th September 2019, Devon Safeguarding Adults Partnership published its findings into Atlas care homes, seven years after all 15 Atlas care homes were closed by the Care Quality Commission in 2012.

Mencap responds to the publication of the review and calls for the recommendations to be “acted on nationally”.

Dan Scorer, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the learning disability charity Mencap, said:

“Families have been waiting seven years for this Safeguarding Adults Review to be published. Recommendations from this report must be acted on nationally and we hope families will be included more in the care of their loved ones as a consequence. Mencap has been fighting alongside families to make sure the right support is available in the community, so people with a learning disability can realise their right to have their own homes in the community, not hospitals or remote institutions. This can only be achieved by sustained investment in good quality social care and housing, and a robust cross-government plan to deliver the long overdue changes. People with a learning disability have the right to live in the community close to loved ones and with the right support, enabling them to live fulfilling lives.”

Read the full review online here.

-ENDS-       

For further information, contact Mencap’s media team on: media@mencap.org.uk or 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours). 

Notes to editors

About Mencap     

There are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want. 

For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s Freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (9am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk .     

What is a learning disability?    

  • A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life;    
  • Learning disability is not a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’;     
  • People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.