(photo : Autistic Sophie Mcguire from St Ninians, Stirling, who is detained in a mental health ward in Forth Valley Royal Hospital at Larbert in Fife. Sophie has a rare genetic disorder and possible physical ailments which are causing erratic behaviour but are not being treated. She wants to be treated at home among her family, as recommended by a specialist neurologist. This is not happening. Her distraught mother Lynn is not being listened to and is not allowed to visit her daughter.)
Dear Friends and Supporters
In England, 31 May 2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the Winterbourne View Hospital scandal. Undercover filming by BBC Panorama exposed shocking abuse and neglect of people with learning disability and autism at an Assessment & Treatment Unit (ATU) near Bristol. 11 care workers admitted guilt. 6 were jailed.
In response, the UK Government promised that it would ‘transform care’ and accelerate the return of these patients to community life using a new system of Care & Treatment Reviews.
That plan is failing. Targets have been missed and re-vised. Twice. Further abuse has been exposed at Whorlton Hall Hospital near Durham. More than 2000 people are still in such units in England & Wales.
But at least there is a plan of action, an acknowledgement of responsibility, a commitment to do better. Numbers are falling. Slowly.
Meanwhile the Scottish Government has kept quiet. In 2016 it commissioned a study to uncover the scale of the problem within Scotland and what could be done about it. The resulting 'Coming Home' report, published in November 2018, cited 709 “out of area placements” and “delayed discharges” - ie those ready to leave hospital. The full number including those detained legally but without consent is not known.
During May to November 2020 a Short Life Working Group considered how to take forward the recommendations in the 'Coming Home' report. The SLWG submitted its own final report to the Government on 9 November 2020. To date, that report has not been published and is “confidential.”
Whilst the UK Government is heavily criticised for its failure to meet its own targets, the Scottish Government is getting off “scot free” for doing nothing at all. Since 5 January 2021 it has repeatedly snubbed our Petition for a meeting to discuss what can be done for those who are “entrapped” and deteriorating in secure hospitals to which they ought never have been sent in the first place.
Please support the families who are affected by this campaign, and others like them, by writing to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today. You do not need to be a Scottish citizen nor resident in Scotland to do this.
Below is the email which I have sent. You are welcome to use or adapt it as you wish. However please retain the link to this Petition on Change.Org
Send your message to the First Minister of Scotland :
http://firstminister.gov.scot/join/first-minister-postbag/ or scottish.ministers@gov.scot
After posting your message please leave a comment to this update to let us know that you have done so.
Many thanks for your continued support
Barry Gale pp Ruth Hughes, Tracey Gibbon, Sylvia Shirley McMahon and Lynn Mcguire
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Suggested Message to Nicola Sturgeon MSP via the First Minister's Post Bag : http://firstminister.gov.scot/join/first-minister-postbag/
Note : The above link limits your message to 2000 characters which includes spaces (I think). The draft message below is not accepted. You may need to shorten the message. Otherwise you can email your message to scottish.ministers@gov.scot.
Subject : Release people from secure hospitals who don't need to be there
My Message to the First Minister :
Dear Nicola Sturgeon MSP
I am writing to protest against your government's neglect to address the plight of autistic and learning disabled patients who are “entrapped” in inappropriate secure hospitals.
On 22 November 2018 your publication of the "Coming Home" report included the statement that :
"The Scottish Government's vision for people with learning disabilities and complex needs within Scotland is that everyone is supported to lead full, healthy, productive, and independent lives in their communities, with access to a range of options and life choices."
There is as yet no national plan on how and when the Scottish Government is going to deliver on this “vision.”
People are still being detained in secure hospitals and ATUs, beyond the clinical need of them to be there. Not only are they not getting better, but incarceration is actually making them worse.
The Petition which I have signed calls upon you to take responsibility for the situation and take action. It asks you to listen to the families whose lives have become a living hell, and to put pressure on the relevant Health Boards to engage in open dialogue to accelerate their return to the community.
Hitherto you have ignored our requests. Having now formed a new government, will you also adopt a new policy? Will you take personal responsibility for this national scandal? Will you start listening to and talking with these patients and their families? Or will you continue to make excuses for doing nothing while they suffer?
Yours Sincerely
(insert your name here)
Signatory to the Petition 'Release people from secure hospitals who don't need to be there'
http://chng.it/2KKy6dKDFk