Yesterday, the BBC reported on the number of adults with learning disabilities and autism who are still in hospitals across the UK and the picture is stark!

Numbers of people with learning disabilities and/or autism in inpatient units in England:

March 2015 – 2395

March 2020 – 2095

October 2021 – 2070

People languishing in inpatient facilities need to return to the communities they once lived in, where they can flourish with person centred care and support from a team of empathic caring, trained staff, enabling them to develop skills and independence and discover opportunities to be part of their local community.

It is over 10 years since the horrors at Winterbourne View were exposed by Panorama, a harrowing undercover documentary which showed cruel, abusive staff and the impact they had on the people who were unfortunate to be living there. The longer the situation continues, the risk of harm to people remains.

Bethphage have successfully supported individuals move to from inpatient facilities back into their communities and have seen the  positive transformation this makes to people’s lives. Using values based recruitment to find the best people, alongside giving them high quality training and support is key to this success.

You can read the BBC’s Report here.