Bring people back to where they feel safe, welcome and independent – and prevent them from being sent away.
Provide the leadership and make the changes needed to bring people back to their communities, and out of remote and unsafe locations – and create the preventative approaches that will stop this happening in the first place.
- Reducing the risk of professional decision-making and practice that is insufficiently informed of people’s rights and results in their unnecessary and potentially illegal exclusion, isolation and restraint.
- Increasing the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and autistic people so they can live good lives without undue control.
- Reducing the harms caused by unsuitable, unacceptable practice that can all too often result in injury, trauma or even death.
- Reducing the emotional and physical toll on people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their families/carers, who are living in unsuitable places, locations or settings that are more likely to cause harm.
- Reducing the prohibitive cost to public finances, of long-term isolated accommodation and support that keeps people institutionalised.
- There should be a National Mission that centres the lived experience of people with learning disabilities and autistic people – as well as family/carers – with regular updates to an independent Ministerial Steering group, to Senedd members and Senedd committees.
- There should be an urgent review of available data, so that people across Wales can see (and access) clear data gathered on out of county, out of country and institutionalised placements.
- There should be immediate commitment to implement the Stolen Lives recommendations, which should be part of the above National Mission.
- Wales should develop rights-based, excellent community-based support and safe, highly temporary and non-medicalised accommodation for people at immediate risk of crisis, all with the protection and promotion of human rights at their centre.
- Welsh Government should review all frameworks and standards in relation to the commissioning and provision and professional training for service providers for people with learning disabilities and autistic people to ensure they prioritise their right to dignity, privacy, autonomy and family life.
- We need people to get good quality support wherever they live – that includes support and breaks for family members/carers.
Research and Reports
The Bubb Report: This report from 2014 demonstrates that 12 years ago, people were still being placed in inappropriate inpatient settings.
Out of Sight – who cares?: Restraint, segregation and seclusion review (2020): This report makes it clear that people still stay too long in these settings and are subject to unnecessary restrictive practices.
The right to liberty of persons with psychosocial disabilities at the United Nations: A tale of two interpretations: This article explores the current debates around the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities, and reaffirms the arguments for the right to liberty.
The detention of young people with learning disabilities and / or autism: A Joint Committee Report on Human Rights, demonstrating that people with learning disabilities and / or autistic people are admitted to hospital without mental health conditions, and are being restrained physically and chemically due to a lack of appropriate housing and social care support.
Baroness Hollins’ final report: My heart breaks – solitary confinement in hospital has no therapeutic benefit for people with a learning disability and autistic people: This report demonstrates that as people become distressed, they are more likely to become subjected to restrictive practices, such as long-term seclusion, restraint and segregation.
‘The whole thing is beyond stress’: Family perspectives on the experience of hospitalisation through to discharge for individuals with severe learning disabilities and complex needs: This article demonstrates the challenges facing families – isolation, mental health difficulties, even thoughts of suicide.
Transforming identities through Transforming Care: How people with learning disabilities experience moving out of hospital: This article demonstrates the positive experiences for people leaving hospitals.
Narratives of Home: Personal accounts of life in the community following a move from an assessment and treatment unit: This article demonstrates the positive impact of people living in communities and being free of the hospital environment.
Evaluation of the National HOPE(S) Programme to end long-term segregation (LTS) for children and young people, autistic adults and/or adults with a learning disability in inpatient hospital settings: This HOPE(S) programme is a possible option and approach to ending long-term segregation.
Learning Disability Improving Lives Programme: This report explores actions needed to make changes, and identifies a real gap in data collection.
Lucinda Ritchie: When the Law is Clear, but the System Ignores it: An article exploring the recent case of Lucinda Ritchie and her express wishes being overruled by the system – she is a powerful advocate for her own wishes, and still was not listened to.
Why is good quality residential care so very difficult to achieve?: This article, although almost two decades old, breaks down clear barriers to the achievement of good quality residential care, and we think that future governments in Wales need to understand these challenges.
Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice: This wide-ranging, evidenced report from WHO/UN identifies the need for, and offers a vision towards, significant change to our mental health legislation and systems. A change to this approach would make a massive different to people trapped in the system.
Gofyn 1: Yn agos i gartref
Dod â phobl yn ôl i ble maen nhw’n teimlo’n ddiogel, yn teimlo croeso ac yn teimlo’n annibynnol – a’u hatal rhag cael eu hanfon i ffwrdd.
Darparu’r arweinyddiaeth a gwneud y newidiadau sydd eu hangen i ddod â phobl yn ôl i’w cymunedau, ac allan o leoliadau anghysbell ac anniogel – a chreu’r dulliau ataliol a fydd yn atal hyn rhag digwydd yn y lle cyntaf.
- Lleihau’r risg o wneud penderfyniadau ac ymarfer proffesiynol nad yw’n cael eu hysbysu’n ddigonol am hawliau pobl ac sy’n arwain at eu heithrio, eu hynysu ac ataliaeth ddiangen a allai fod yn anghyfreithlon.
- Cynyddu ansawdd bywyd pobl ag anableddau dysgu a phobl awtistig fel y gallant fyw bywydau da heb reolaeth ormodol.
- Lleihau’r niwed sy’n cael ei achosi gan arfer anaddas, annerbyniol a all yn rhy aml arwain at anaf, trawma neu hyd yn oed farwolaeth.
- Lleihau’r niwed emosiynol a chorfforol ar bobl ag anableddau dysgu, pobl awtistig, a’u teuluoedd/gofalwyr, sy’n byw mewn lleoedd, lleoliadau neu fannau anaddas sy’n fwy tebygol o achosi niwed.
- Lleihau’r gost afresymol i gyllid cyhoeddus, llety ynysig hirdymor a chymorth sy’n cadw pobl wedi’u sefydliadoli.
- Dylai fod Cenhadaeth Genedlaethol sy’n canolbwyntio ar brofiad byw pobl ag anableddau dysgu a phobl awtistig – yn ogystal â theuluoedd/gofalwyr – gyda diweddariadau rheolaidd i grŵp Llywio Gweinidogol annibynnol, i aelodau’r Senedd a phwyllgorau’r Senedd.
- Dylai fod adolygiad brys o’r data sydd ar gael, fel y gall pobl ledled Cymru weld (a chyrchu) data clir a gasglwyd ar leoliadau y tu allan i’r sir, y tu allan i’r wlad a lleoliadau sefydliadol.
- Dylai fod ymrwymiad ar unwaith i weithredu’r argymhellion Stolen Lives, a ddylai fod yn rhan o’r Genhadaeth Genedlaethol uchod.
- Dylai Cymru ddatblygu cymorth cymunedol rhagorol sy’n seiliedig ar hawliau a llety diogel, dros dro a heb feddyginiaeth ar gyfer pobl sydd mewn perygl uniongyrchol o argyfwng, i gyd gyda diogelu a hyrwyddo hawliau dynol yn ganolog iddynt.
- Dylai Llywodraeth Cymru adolygu’r holl fframweithiau a safonau mewn perthynas â chomisiynu a darparu a hyfforddiant proffesiynol ar gyfer darparwyr gwasanaethau ar gyfer pobl ag anableddau dysgu a phobl awtistig i sicrhau eu bod yn blaenoriaethu eu hawl i urddas, preifatrwydd, ymreolaeth a bywyd teuluol.
- Mae angen i bobl gael cymorth o ansawdd da ble bynnag maen nhw’n byw – mae hynny’n cynnwys cefnogaeth a seibiannau i aelodau o’r teulu/gofalwyr.