Use Of 'Modern Day Asylums' For People With Autism Rises In Lockdown As Community Care Collapses
People with a learning disability and autism are being locked in “modern day asylums” following a collapse in community care over lockdown, a charity has warned.
Learning disability charity Mencap said that “huge reductions” in community social care during the pandemic has left many families at “crisis point” – and is leading to an increase in the number of people being admitted into assessment and treatment units (ATUs).
NHS figures published on Thursday revealed there were 2,100 people, including 220 children, in the specialist in-patient units in England at the end of August – up from 2,045 in April.
The increase comes despite a pledge by the government to halve the number by 2024, down from 2,890 people in 2015.
Mencap has warned that patients in these specialist hospitals are at risk of abuse and neglect, with separate NHS figures showing “restrictive interventions” – including physical restraint, chemical sedation and segregation – were used 3,860 times in June alone.
There are “massive concerns about violations of peoples’ human rights” in these inpatient units, said head of policy Dan Scorer.
But a dramatic drop in community support since lockdown, including care in the home, day centres and respite care, means some families looking after a loved one with a learning disability or autism are being pushed to breaking point, he said.
A survey of family carers by Mencap revealed that 69% of people with a learning disability has had their social care cut during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A woman in her fifties told the charity how she had been left caring for her “very challenging and strong” 26-year-old son alone for more than 100 hours a week after a loss in community care during the pandemic.
“I am worn out and exhausted, my son is fully grown with the strength of ten men,” she said. “It has left me feeling depressed and forgotten.”
People with a learning disability or autism are some of the most vulnerable in...
