Transforming Care – Is it Working?
In the aftermath of the Winterbourne View scandal the government pledged to transfer people with learning disabilities and autism out of unsuitable hospital placements and into supported community living settings. A key milestone was to cut inpatient beds by March 2019 and to transform the lives of people who have been previously been ‘stuck’ in institutional settings.
But File on 4 has been told that the target will be missed and that it’s unachievable. Without the necessary expansion of capability to provide care for people in their own homes or community settings – many still languish in unsafe and unsuitable accommodation, with little prospect of moving on.
What are the implications for people who say they’re trapped in the system, with no route out?
Parents fighting to have their children moved to more appropriate environments say they fear for their safety. They paint a picture of a system that is overstretched and at breaking point. Without enough staff to provide the one to one care residents require – some have suffered serious injuries, harm or abuse.
So seven years after Winterbourne View, has enough really changed?
Transforming Care – Is it Working? No, definitely not, and is unlikely to improve until the true story of Winterbourne View is debated in the public domain. This outcome has been predictable and avoidable for the past 30 years, or more, simply because successive governments have learnt nothing from historical experience.They have taken advice and guidance from the wrong sources and continue to do so as rational care in the community policies insidiously disintegrates.