Ahead of a “Homes not Hospitals’ protest outside the Senedd today, North Wales MS and Chair of the Senedd Cross-Party Groups on Autism and on Disability, Mark Isherwood, questioned the Welsh Government yesterday over the lack of progress it has made in reducing the numbers of Autistic people or people with a learning disability still locked up in Assessment and Treatment Centres in Wales and England.
Currently there are Autistic people and people with learning disabilities being held in in Hospitals, Assessment and Treatment Centres and other settings, some for decades.
Calling in Tuesday’s Business Statement for a Statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on action by the Welsh Government to reduce the numbers still locked up, Mr Isherwood said that the 'Homes not Hospitals' protest set to take place outside the Senedd at lunchtime today, supported by Learning Disability Wales and 13 other organisations including Mencap Cymru, will raise awareness of the lack of movement by the Welsh Government on this issue.
He said:
“After I wrote to the former Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being as Chair of the Cross-Party Autism Group, jointly with Hefin David as a Group member, regarding the sectioning and detention of Autistic people due to placements breaking down, rather than any specific mental health issue, her reply confirmed that data on this is not held centrally by the Welsh Government, which questions how they can make informed decisions about service delivery.
“There has been a learning disability strategy in place in Wales since 2018, which seeks to ensure that Autistic people or people with a learning disability who are in long-term placements are discharged and able to live their lives in the community. However, Learning Disability Wales states that ‘approximately 150 Autistic people or people with a learning disability are known to be in a hospital setting, over two thirds for over 10 years’, although numbers don't include all people and all settings. We therefore need to know why such a high number are still in long-term hospital placements. I call for a Statement accordingly.”
In her response, the Trefnydd, Jane Hutt MS, said she acknowledges the 'Homes not Hospitals' steer and approach and ambition of the Welsh Government and the Welsh NHS, “So, certainly, that will be taken back, acknowledged and taken forward in terms of a response to the event.”