Following the Winterbourne View inquiry, NHS England agreed to “review all current hospital placements and support everyone inappropriately placed in hospital to move to
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
-based support as quickly as possible, and no later than 1 June 2014”.
Out of a total of 2,577 peopleatients with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges in
assessment
An assessment is a way of finding out what help a person needs. When you have an assessment, you might have to go to a meeting or fill in a form.
and treatment units, only 260 have a movingtransfer date, of which 172 are before 1 June 2014.
Jan Tregelles, chief executive at Mencap, and Vivien Cooper, chief executive at The
Challenging Behaviour
Challenging behaviour can be when someone hurts themselves, hits or pinches someone else, or breaks something. Some people might behave like this because they are upset or because people do not understand them.
Foundation, said:
It is extremely concerning that one year after the programme to move people out of places like Winterbourne View and back to their communities, more than 2,300 people with a learning disability and behaviours that challenge are still in these institutions. The lack of progress to meet the June deadline is shocking and unacceptable.
We are told that this failure to return people to their communities is owing to ‘clinical decisions’. We know that too often these decisions are made through the lack of a thorough understanding of learning disability and behaviour that challenges, and also a lack of confidence amongst professionals that the right services actually exist in local areas to support someone.
These should never be reasons to keep vulnerable
Being vulnerable means being at risk of harm, or that you need special care because of your age or disability. people trapped in institutions, away from their families and at real risk of abuse
Abuse is when someone bullies you and does or says something to you that makes you feel hurt, upset or scared. . We call for an urgent independent review of every single decision to deny someone the opportunity to live in the community.
-ENDS-
* NHS England data on transfer dates for people with learning disabilities,
autism
Autism is a disability. Autistic people find it difficult to understand what other people think and feel. They also find it difficult to tell people what they think and feel. Everyone with autism is different.
and behaviour that challenges:www.england.nhs.uk/2014/03/18/wvc-data/
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact the Mencap press office on 020 7696 6950 or email media@mencap.org.uk.
About Mencap
There are 1.4 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
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
,
employment
Employment means having a job.
and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
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 Direct on 0808 808 1111 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) or email help@mencap.org.uk.
About The Challenging Behaviour Foundation
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation provides information, support and training around challenging behaviour associated with severe learning disabilities, and leads the ‘Challenging Behaviour National
Strategy
A strategy is a plan to show what an
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
, or a person, wants to do and how they are going to do it.
Group’ which seeks to influence policy and practice nationally on behalf of individuals who challenge and their families.
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation was founded in 1997 by Vivien Cooper, parent of a son with severe learning disabilities and behaviour described as challenging. Today the Challenging Behaviour Foundation is in regular contact with over 5000 families and professionals across the UK. There are an estimated 30,000 individuals in England with severe learning disabilities and behaviour described as challenging.