With better care in the community where practitioners have appropriate training, the experiences of autistic people when they need help can be vastly improved. Better preventative care and community-based support is needed to help ensure that people are not admitted to unsuitable settings in the first place and can access support at home or within their own community, near their family members and in a place they feel safe and comfortable. We should not be placing people in hospitals hundreds of miles from home over long periods of time, overusing unacceptable restrictive practices or placing people in toxic cultures where abuse and assault are able to occur. Mental health services should take a rights-based, therapeutic and person-centred approach. There is a clear and urgent need for better care and support for autistic people. These abuses will continue unless changes are made to commissioning the right support, in the right place, at the right time.” Report after report has told us these hospital admissions rarely work and even cause additional trauma. Sadly, these individuals are either too afraid of retaliation, or are even prevented from accessing the media, to bring their stories forward. Many more people are experiencing similar or even worse abuse parading as ‘care’. These dreadful stories are the tip of a huge iceberg. Jez Harris, RRN Lead Consultant, said: “I now work carrying out reviews of individual cases in these units. Unfortunately, we know that this is far from reality for too many people. People should be able to trust that when they need support and decide to engage with mental health services, they will be provided suitable, appropriate and therapeutic care. ![]() The failings and abuse described in the documentary reinforce what we have heard from many autistic people about their traumatic, painful experiences as inpatients in hospitals. Without the appropriate provision and training, hospital stays can lead to a worsening of an existing mental health need and in the worst cases, a failure to safeguard and protect the basic human rights of vulnerable people. The experiences of Lauren, Amy, Danielle and Shaun, once again show the failings of our mental health system to meet the needs of autistic people. It also detailed allegations of appalling sexual assaults that had taken place within the hospitals. The documentary further describes the overuse of restrictive practices including blanket restrictions, physical restraint and solitary confinement. Instead of receiving suitable support and care in an appropriate environment, their needs were exacerbated and indeed worsened by unsuitable settings. ![]() ![]() ![]() ‘Locked Away – Our Autism Scandal’ shared the stories of Lauren, Amy, Danielle and Shaun, when accessing support for mental health crises at a number of hospitals and mental health units around the country. The Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) is deeply saddened by last week’s (24 March 2023) Channel 4 Dispatches documentary showing experiences of autistic people within UK mental health services.
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