Longfield to investigate 'shocking' treatment of vulnerable children in assessment units
Gabriella Jozwiak
Monday, October 29, 2018
The children's commissioner for England is to investigate alleged abuse and maltreatment of children and young people with learning disabilities and autism in NHS-funded secure units.
Anne Longfield said she would be pressing the government to look into reports claiming that children in assessment and treatment units (ATUs) have endured being locked in small padded cells, fed through hatches in doors, restrained, and forcibly injected with sedative medication.
ATUs are designed to be short-term secure placements for people with learning disabilities displaying challenging behaviour to receive treatment before moving back into the community.
However, an investigation by the Mail on Sunday has claimed children have been taken away from their parents against their wishes, and kept in the units for years while their conditions deteriorated as a result.
A spokesman for the Office of the Children's Commissioner confirmed Longfield would be writing to NHS England about the matter.
"Children in ATUs are some of the most vulnerable young people in the country and all too often we know little about their experiences," the spokesman said.
"This shocking investigation has raised a number of serious concerns about the way some children are being held in these units.
"We will be writing to NHS England asking why this is happening and what can be done to make sure that no child is condemned to spend years in an assessment unit."
We are investigating
— Anne Longfield (@annelongfield) October 29, 2018
Jacqui Shurlock, children and young people lead at the Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) said the cases described in the investigation were not isolated, and confirmed her organisation had supported similar families.
Following the 2011 Winterbourne View care home abuse scandal in which adults in the unit in Gloucestershire suffered abuse, she said the government set up Transforming Care - a programme that aims to improve care in the community - but its focus was primarily on adults.
According to the latest Transforming Care data from summer 2018, 255 children and young people were receiving treatment in an ATU, but Shurlock said the quality of the data is poor.
An investigation published by CBF in 2014 revealed two thirds of children under 18 in ATUs were given anti-psychotic medication regularly. It also found that young people were the most likely to suffer self-harm, hands-on restraint and seclusion.
"These are children and young people who have a learning disability or autism, but not a mental health diagnosis - it's unnecessary medication," said Shurlock.
"All these children do not need to be in mental health settings.
"Essentially the story for most people is that their support in the community breaks down, there's a crisis point, children are sectioned, and put into mental health units which often don't have experts in learning disabilities or autism."
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Shurlock said the issues are largely due to cuts to local authority budgets, and although NHS England has been tasked with finding a solution, the problem is not entirely due to them.
"The thing that prevents people getting into that crisis situation is good support from education, health and social care in the community," she said.
Carolyne Willow, director of charity Article 39, which campaigns for children's rights in institutional settings, said the investigation exposed "a pattern of neglect and ill-treatment combined with chronic failure by independent bodies to protect children's fundamental rights".
She called for a co-ordinated national programme of work across agencies responsible for different institutional settings to tackle the problem, "with serious resources and utmost government priority".
A spokeswoman from Department of Health and Social Care said government is "committed to supporting people with learning disabilities to live in the community, only go to hospital when absolutely necessary, and ensure if they are admitted they can leave as soon as their treatment has finished."
"People with learning disabilities and autism deserve the best support and care. We are clear that any kind of restraint or seclusion should only be used as a last resort and we are working to reduce restrictive interventions and improve patient safety through improved monitoring and training."