NHS England announced today that plans to close England’s last stand-alone NHS learning disability hospital, Calderstones, will go ahead after publishing the results of a consultation on its closure as a PDF here.
This was the flagship announcement over NHS England’s closure programme, ‘Building the Right Support’ which aims to close 35-50% of inpatient beds across the country by 2019, and develop local,
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
based support for people with a learning disability.
Several commitments have been made to close inpatient units for people with a learning disability since the Winterbourne View scandal in 2011.
Jan Tregelles, Chief Executive at Mencap, and Viv 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:
“The closure of Calderstones is an important step towards NHS England’s commitment in changing the way we care for people with a learning disability.
“But this positive news will be undermined, however, if the arrangements that are put in place are based on the wrong model of care and not in line with the Government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax
Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like income tax
Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools. , VAT
VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to the government to pay for things like schools and hospitals. and council tax
Council
A council is also called a local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. . They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. Tax is the money that people pay to the council
“Numerous targets and plans have been set out over the last 5 years promising change for people stuck in inpatient settings, often hundreds of miles from home and at increased risk of abuse
Abuse is when someone bullies you and does or says something to you that makes you feel hurt, upset or scared. and neglect
Neglect is when you are not being cared for or supported. . After the closure of Calderstones NHS England must now step up to deliver its commitment to close 35-50% of inpatient beds by 2019, by ensuring good local support is developed to in place of the out-dated, institutional care that should have been closed down decades ago.”
-ENDS-
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact the Mencap press office on 020 7696 5414 or media@mencap.org.uk.
Notes to editors
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
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
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.
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.
Learning disability is not a mental illness or a learning difficulty. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’.