Mencap and 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 (CBF) warn that the pressures of the coronavirus crisis is causing even more delays to people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
and/or
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.
getting out of these modern-day asylums where they are at increased risk of abuse and neglect.
Latest NHS Digital figures show that there continues to be 2,100 people locked away despite an ongoing Government and NHS England programme to transform care by closing 50% of beds for people with a learning disability and/or autism in inpatient units by 2024 and provide people with the right support in the
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
.
Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation urge
the Government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (NHS) should work.
, NHS England and local authorities to focus on developing the right support and housing in the community that people desperately need to be discharged.
Jackie O’Sullivan, Executive Director of Communications, Advocacy
Advocacy is when you get support to have your say. and Activism
Activism is taking action to make change. Going to a campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something. event with others, writing letters and speaking up are all ways to take action. at the learning disability charity Mencap, said:
“Over 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autism are still locked up in modern day asylums. Change was already long overdue, and now COVID-19 has caused even more delays. While the pandemic is an unprecedented situation, it is no reason to allow human rights
Human rights
Rights are the things everyone should be allowed to do like have a say, or go to school. are the rights that everyone has. These include the right to go to school and the right to start a family. abuses to continue.
“With a potential second wave this winter, local authorities are rightly focusing on COVID-19, but they must not lose focus on developing the right support and housing in the community that people desperately need to be discharged. This is directly linked with social care funding and reform. The Government must urgently provide the funding that social care needs to develop vital local support services and deliver the cross-government 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. to drive forward the change required to truly transform care. People deserve to live in homes not hospitals.”
A spokesperson
A spokesperson is someone who speaks up about something. They usually speak up on behalf of a group or organisation. from the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said:
“Data published today by NHS Digital shows that far too many children, young people and adults remain in inpatient units where they are at risk of restrictive interventions. It has been clearly documented through surveys and inquiries that disabled children, young people and adults have seen much of the minimal support they had drop away during the pandemic. For those whose behaviours challenge this puts them at risk of harmful restrictive interventions, inappropriate admission to inpatient units and can also prevent timely discharges from inpatient units.
“As the Covid 19 pandemic continues and with the uncertainty of the next few months, comprehensive planning is needed to ensure the provision of appropriate care and support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. It is essential that individuals and their families are provided with up to date comprehensive information and timely support is prioritised. It is critical that we get the right support in place in the community to provide direct help to families and to those supporting people with learning disabilities, including social care, schools, and respite
Respite is when a person goes somewhere for a few hours or days to have a break. People with a learning disability can have respite from their carers and family, and carers and family can have respite from the people they care for. services, so they are able to provide effective support under these difficult conditions.”
Furthermore, today’s NHS Digital figures also reveal:
- little change in the number of admissions with 80 admissions in August 2020
- the average total length of stay in inpatient units is 5.6 years
- 3,860 recorded instances of restrictive interventions (like physical, prone, mechanical and chemical restraint) being used in June 2020, of which 620 were against children. This is likely to be just the “tip of the iceberg” as only data for 2 out of 14 private/independent providers and 30 out of 58 NHS providers. A decreasing number of providers reported data on the recorded instances of restrictive interventions this month. [4]
The full report can be accessed via NHS Digital.
-ENDS–
For further information or to arrange interviews, contact Mencap’s media team on:
- media@mencap.org.uk
- 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
Notes to editors
- Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation have been campaigning with families on these issues since the abuse scandal at Winterbourne View nine years ago.
- The Assuring Transformation data from NHS Digital is the most accurate and up to date account of people with a learning disability and autism in institutions. It is a record of how many are in an institution, how long they have been in for, when their care and treatment is checked and what kind of unit they are in. Latest data shows that numbers have fallen from 2,260 at the end of March 2019 to 2,100 at the end of August 2020: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/learning-disability-services-statistics/learning-disability-services-monthly-statistics-at-august-2020-mhsds-june-2020-final.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/62-million-to-help-discharge-people-with-learning-disabilities-or-autism-into-the-community.
- Figures for restrictive practices quoted from NHS Digital MHSDS Data: June 2020, published September 2020. For more information visit https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/learning-disability-services-statistics/learning-disability-services-monthly-statistics-at-august-2020-mhsds-june-2020-final.
- In the tables for restrictive practices we cannot distinguish between ‘less than 5’ and ‘missing data’, so we have to treat this all as missing data.
- Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation are asking the Government to focus on:
- developing local expertise, support and services
- ensuring there is joint oversight and ownership of the national programme by the ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for
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.
- removing the red tape and funding barriers that are preventing so many people from returning home
- there remains no robust plan from leadership for cross-government working.
About Mencap
There are 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
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.
Visit www.mencap.org.uk.
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-6pm, 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
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty. People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell.
. 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.
About The Challenging Behaviour Foundation
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) is a charity which exists to demonstrate that individuals with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges can enjoy ordinary life opportunities when their behaviour is properly understood and appropriately supported.
The CBF supports families across the UK caring for individuals with severe learning disabilities. Information and support around understanding challenging behaviour and supporting behaviour change is provided through a range of written and DVD resources, email networks, family linking scheme, and through individual telephone support.
For more information about the CBF’s work on restraint and seclusion:
- visit: www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk/driving-change/restraintandseclusion.html
- visit www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk
- email info@thecbf.org.uk
- phone 01634 838739.