NHS announces cut in learning disability care hospital beds

The announcement has arisen in light of the abuse scandal exposed at Winterbourne View where six out of 11 care workers admitted a total of 38 charges of neglect or abuse of patients. The new measure will see patients ‘live in homes, not hospitals’.

As part of the measure to reduce care beds, Calderstones in Lancashire, the largest disability hospital, will be closed. However, opposers of the new initiative have questioned whether the available funding for the system is enough.

Ann Earley, the mother of Simon Tovey who was a victim of abuse at Winterbourne View, said: "There is absolutely no excuse for people being locked up in hospitals away from families. If you have a prison sentence, there is an end to it.

"There are people in dire circumstances, and families driven to the brink of despair trying to get people home, and it's not acceptable in the 21st Century."

The NHS has acknowledged the system has failed those with learning disabilities or autism for countless years.

Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer for England, said: "Now is the time to put things right."

Currently, there are around 2,600 patients under learning disability care. Figures show that 75 per cent of them have been under the same care for over a year, although the number of discharges or transfers has increased by 38 per cent over the past year.

The NHS commented that the current system is ‘inappropriate’ as each bed costs £175,000 annually and is often used as a tong-term option because of lack of alternatives.

The shift in the care system will see hospital units closed and £45 million spent over three years to fund the move to community services. NHS England expects that the new system will see the number of hospitalised patients fall to between 1,300-700 within the next three years.

Furthermore, in areas that rely most on inpatient care, the number of beds are expected to be reduced by 70 per cent. To achieve this the NHS and local councils are required to work closely together to provide housing which patients can own, but which will still provide access to on-site care, a ‘rapid and ambitious expansion’ of personal health budgets so patients can plan their own care and access to local care and support workers.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said: "As good and necessary as some inpatient care can be, people with learning disabilities are clear they want to live in homes, not hospitals.

"We've seen some progress over the last few years, but now is the moment to grasp the nettle and build the excellent community-based support that will allow people to move out of hospitals."

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