“There are people with learning disabilities and autistic people from Wales who are incarcerated in secure mental health or specialist learning disability hospital provision. Their only crime is being disabled. This is a human rights scandal.”
On Wednesday 17 April 2024, 1.00-2.30 pm, Stolen Lives will protest against Welsh Government inaction outside the Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
Stolen Lives is a campaign group of families who have loved ones with a learning disability or who are autistic, and who are incarcerated in secure mental health or specialist learning disability hospital provision. We are joined by organisations of and for disabled people, organisations of parents, carers and family members, and other allies.
What is the issue?
Hospitals are not a home; people cannot enjoy life whilst locked away. Many hospitals are far away from people’s families, and cases of abuse and neglect are all too common. Some have been living there for many years; their lives stolen from them. This has been ignored for too long.
People find themselves locked away in hospitals due to ‘placement breakdown’ caused by inappropriate environments, poor recruitment/retention of staff, poor staff morale and lack of understanding of learning disability and/or autism. This can lead to avoidable sectioning and processes not being lawfully followed.
Many people find themselves trapped in hospitals due to the lack of appropriate housing and support in the community. Once incarcerated, people are at increased risk of behaviours that challenge others and/or mental deterioration which can delay discharge, sometimes indefinitely.
Despite Stolen Lives efforts to engage with the Welsh Government, we continue to be told we are unique cases, reminiscent of the post office scandal, where individuals were told that it was only happening to them. Welsh Government will say that it is their policy to get people out of secure hospitals and into local communities, but in practice this is not happening, and they are doing nothing to bring Health Boards and Local Authorities to account.
Dr. Dawn Cavanagh from the ‘Stolen Lives’ Campaign said, “The human rights of people with learning disabilities and autistic people living in Wales are being breached. A hospital should never be a home. My son feels like he is living in a prison. It has traumatised us as a family.”
Joe Powell (Chief Executive of All Wales People First) said, “2024 marks the 41st anniversary of the ground-breaking All Wales Strategy for people with learning disabilities. Wales led the way in recognising that people with learning disabilities should enjoy the same rights as any other citizen in society and that a learning disability is not a health condition, and hospitals are not suitable places for people to live. It is disturbing to think that Wales is starting to go backwards with seemingly little political will to remedy this situation.”
We are tired of reports and meetings and reviews and plans that lead to NOTHING CHANGING. We feel we have no choice, but to protest. For more information and the ‘Stolen Lives Manifesto’ see: https://wordpress.com/home/stolenlives.blog
‘Stolen Lives’ Protest at Senedd Cymru
“There are people with learning disabilities and autistic people from Wales who are incarcerated in secure mental health or specialist learning disability hospital provision. Their only crime is being disabled. This is a human rights scandal.”
On Wednesday 17 April 2024, 1.00-2.30 pm, Stolen Lives will protest against Welsh Government inaction outside the Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
Stolen Lives is a campaign group of families who have loved ones with a learning disability or who are autistic, and who are incarcerated in secure mental health or specialist learning disability hospital provision. We are joined by organisations of and for disabled people, organisations of parents, carers and family members, and other allies.
What is the issue?
Hospitals are not a home; people cannot enjoy life whilst locked away. Many hospitals are far away from people’s families, and cases of abuse and neglect are all too common. Some have been living there for many years; their lives stolen from them. This has been ignored for too long.
People find themselves locked away in hospitals due to ‘placement breakdown’ caused by inappropriate environments, poor recruitment/retention of staff, poor staff morale and lack of understanding of learning disability and/or autism. This can lead to avoidable sectioning and processes not being lawfully followed.
Many people find themselves trapped in hospitals due to the lack of appropriate housing and support in the community. Once incarcerated, people are at increased risk of behaviours that challenge others and/or mental deterioration which can delay discharge, sometimes indefinitely.
Despite Stolen Lives efforts to engage with the Welsh Government, we continue to be told we are unique cases, reminiscent of the post office scandal, where individuals were told that it was only happening to them. Welsh Government will say that it is their policy to get people out of secure hospitals and into local communities, but in practice this is not happening, and they are doing nothing to bring Health Boards and Local Authorities to account.
Dr. Dawn Cavanagh from the ‘Stolen Lives’ Campaign said, “The human rights of people with learning disabilities and autistic people living in Wales are being breached. A hospital should never be a home. My son feels like he is living in a prison. It has traumatised us as a family.”
Joe Powell (Chief Executive of All Wales People First) said, “2024 marks the 41st anniversary of the ground-breaking All Wales Strategy for people with learning disabilities. Wales led the way in recognising that people with learning disabilities should enjoy the same rights as any other citizen in society and that a learning disability is not a health condition, and hospitals are not suitable places for people to live. It is disturbing to think that Wales is starting to go backwards with seemingly little political will to remedy this situation.”
We are tired of reports and meetings and reviews and plans that lead to NOTHING CHANGING. We feel we have no choice, but to protest. For more information and the ‘Stolen Lives Manifesto’ see: https://wordpress.com/home/stolenlives.blog