Disability campaigners are calling on the Government to provide better support for individuals with a learning disability or autism that isn’t just leaving them in psychiatric hospitals.
Today (Tuesday 29th April) members of the Bring People Home from Psychiatric Hospital Network are due to gather in Parliament Square to demand action against detaining autistic people and people with a learning disability under the Mental Health Act.
Part of their plans include delivering a letter to Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health and Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, detailing the urgent need to set up a meeting to discuss concerns about the Mental Health Bill.
The legislation was introduced to Parliament in November last year and recently underwent amendments in the House of Lords yesterday. The bill was announced to modernise the Mental Health Act which came into force in 1983 and was earmarked to ensure individuals have more of a say in their mental health treatments.
Despite progress, disability campaigners have noted there is no mention about creating ‘hospital to homes’ plans for people with a learning disability or autism. What’s more, protestors are also pouring their efforts to ensure these individuals have stronger rights to challenge treatment decisions.
To give context, the latest findings show 2,025 autistic people and people with a learning disability remain locked away in psychiatric hospitals – an 80% increase in those being detained between 2020 and 2024.
‘We will be at the Department for Health and Social Care until we have secured an urgent meeting with the ministers to discuss Bring People Home from Psychiatric Hospital Government Asks, to end wasting £534million on locking us up in psychiatric hospitals once and for all,’ Campaign Manager Simone Aspis, from Inclusion London said. ‘We have no choice as this Government has shown complete contempt for organisations led by People with Learning Difficulties and Autistic People, including those with lived experience of hospital detention.’
Campaigners are due to gather in Westminster from 11:30am until 3:00pm.
As it stands, there have been a vast number of changes proposed for the Mental Health Bill, some of which include reducing police presence when it comes to detentions and assigning the responsibility to trained medical experts. Members of the House of Lords have also suggested restricting the use of community treatment orders and introducing a new statutory role when it comes to children in mental health crisis.
Currently the bill states the nearest relative is responsible for a child, but the changes propose a ‘nominated person’ can be chosen by the patient at any time when they feel well enough to do so.
Going forward the bill is set to return back to the House of Commons for consideration and then will be subject to a process called ‘ping pong’ which is where members of the two houses will debate their disagreements regarding the final text. It is theorised the legislation will receive Royal Assent before Parliament goes into summer recess on 22nd July 2025.
Photo by Gary Walker-Jones via UnSplash
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