Learning Disability Wales will be joining others from across Wales at a protest outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday 17 April from 1pm to 2.30pm.
The Homes Not Hospitals protest has been organised by Stolen Lives, a group of families and carers calling for the release of people with a learning disability and/or autistic people from secure hospital settings in Wales.
Background
People with a learning disability are often being placed in these units because the services they need are not available in their local communities. A learning disability is not a mental health issue, which means people are wrongly being placed in hospitals when they should be given support to live their lives at home.
The sad reality is that this is not a new issue. In 2020, just before the pandemic hit, the Welsh Government’s National Care Review highlighted that 166 people with a learning disability were having their care in hospital settings. The report made 70 recommendations, one of which states clearly that people should only stay in hospitals if there are no other ways to treat them safely.
It is over 40 years since the pioneering All Wales Strategy was first published in 1983, which aimed to get people with a learning disability out of long stay hospitals and be supported to live in their local communities. However, today people with a learning disability are still being sectioned and inappropriately placed in hospital settings simply because the right support is not available in their local area. That is why we are supporting the Homes Not Hospitals protest.
Why are people protesting?
A parent whose son had previously been sectioned explained: “If we continue to allow this injustice to happen then we are not a civilised country. We can’t continue to hurt the weakest in society and waste public money doing it and families and organisations who wish to care for our autistic and learning disabled people are calling on Welsh Government to do what it can to address the issue and release people from horrendous cruelties. It is necessary to protect others from being caught up in a dreadful system.”
Zoe Richards, Chief Executive of Learning Disability Wales, said: “It is totally unacceptable that people with a learning disability are living in hospital settings when their care and support should be delivered at home in their local communities. People with a learning disability are being institutionalised, despite the fact that over 40 years ago Wales was one of the first countries in the world to publish a strategy to move people out of institutions. We are fully supporting the Stolen Lives campaign and Learning Disability Wales will be joining the Homes Not Hospitals protest outside the Senedd on 17 April to raise awareness and press the Welsh Government to act.”
The need for data
Learning Disability Wales continues to call for accurate data to be gathered and published by Welsh Government on the number of people with a learning disability placed in hospital settings such as mental health or assessment and treatment units. We also want comprehensive data on the number of people with a learning disability living in Wales to enable improved service provision and planning.
The Homes Not Hospitals protest will take place outside the Senedd on Wednesday 17 April from 1pm to 2.30pm. You can sign up to support the campaign and join the protest here: Homes Not Hospitals by Stolen Lives
You can read the Stolen Lives manifesto, including easy read versions, here: Stolen Lives blog.
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