Mental Health Act: disabled campaigners call for greater co-production

The Bring People Home From Hospital network, the only national network of organisations run by and for autistic people and people with learning difficulties, has called on the Government to involve disabled communities more closely in its work on the Mental Health Act.

In an open letter to Baroness Merron, Minister for Mental Health, the group expressed ongoing concerns about the lack of engagement with people with learning difficulties and autistic people in the Mental Health Act implementation plan.

The new Mental Health Act received Royal Assent in December and will reform the outdated Mental Health Act of 1983, which provides the legal framework for detaining and treating people in a mental health crisis who are at risk of harming themselves or others.

The revised Act aims to ensure that detention and treatment occur only when there is demonstrable therapeutic benefit. However, the latest statistics show that over 2,000 people with a learning disability and autistic people are still locked away.

Mental Health Act must not repeat past failures

The letter, signed by 25 disability organisations, including Disability Rights UK, VoiceAbility, Mencap, Challenging Behaviour Foundation and Inclusion London, demands that the government ensure the new Act works for all disabled people and doesn’t repeat past failures.

It says: “The ‘Transforming Care‘ and ‘Building the Right Support’ programmes failed to reduce inappropriate hospital detentions because there were no co-designed plans, including for much-needed community services, carried out with people with learning difficulties, autistic people and their families.

“Action plans did not follow the Mental Health Act changes. As a result, 2000+ people with learning difficulties and autistic people are still under lock and key in hospital with limited hope of hospital discharge. We do not want the same failure happening again. The Mental Health Act Code of Practice and guidance changes must be co-produced, otherwise they will not reduce inappropriate hospital detentions.”

Engagement needs to be more accessible

In the letter, the group refers to government tenders that offer to pay organisations to help them reach people with lived experience, especially autistic people and people with learning difficulties. However, the tenders themselves aren’t available in accessible formats such as Easy Read, making it difficult for disabled-led groups and people with the required lived experience to take up and do this work.

• Easy Read version of the letter 

They add: “The first engagement opportunity, Government’s Lived Experience Mental Health Act Advisory Groups tender activity has already excluded and disadvantaged groups run by Autistic People and People with learning difficulties as potential bidders, because there has not been any attempt to make the tender process accessible and inclusive for all.

“We are concerned that implementing the Mental Health Act appears to be relying on the most minimal legal compliance approach to accessibility and engagement. This will not achieve the Government’s aim to reduce inappropriate hospital detention of People with learning difficulties and Autistic People.”

The letter ends by calling on Baroness Merron to work with disabled groups to map out and plan how to make the next important year of implementation accessible and inclusive.

Nearly half (49%) of people with learning disabilities currently in hospital have been in hospital for five or more years. This is often due to a lack of suitable housing and proper community support. Too often, people with a learning disability and autistic people are detained in hospital, not because they need treatment, but because the right support isn’t available in the community.

Join us for our free webinar on Wednesday, April 29th at 1 pm, led by autistic campaigner and author Alexis Quinn, titled “How to end inappropriate detentions.”

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

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