Our children were LOCKED UP

Why are thousands of people with learning disabilities still locked up in mental-health hospitals? Here, Woman investigates

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH

Up and down the country, thousands of families are struggling to release their relatives from assessment and treatment units (ATUs), also known as inpatient units, institutions, or mental-health hospitals.

It may seem like something from times past, but being locked away in a hospital, far from family, is the shocking reality for many people in the UK who have learning difficulties.

Secret filming at Winterbourne View near Bristol, in 2011, by BBC Panorama, shed some light on the abuse of vulnerable people taking place behind closed doors, and in 2015, NHS England pledged to close at least 35% of inpatient beds by February 2018. But this target was missed, with the government now pledging to close 50% of beds by 2024.

Many people are admitted to inpatient units during crisis situations and are sectioned under the Mental Health Act. But this environment, in which they’re trapped for sometimes years at a time, can be challenging for people with learning disabilities and damaging to their mental health. The pandemic exacerbated the problem, leaving many inpatients feeling forgotten.

Woman speaks to two families affected by this little-known scandal.

‘IT FELT LIKE RYAN WAS TRAPPED IN THE SYSTEM’

Sharon Clarke fought for her son Ryan, 32, to be freed from mental-health inpatient units after 15 years.