Chair's statement on care for people with learning disabilities
4 February 2015
A statement from The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts:
People with learning disabilities, admitted to hospitals for assessment and treatment, have been badly let down by government. More than two years since its response to the abuse of patients at the Winterbourne View hospital, it is unacceptable for government to have failed in meeting its core commitment to move people out of mental health hospitals and into the community.
I am appalled that the number of people with learning disabilities who are inpatients in mental health hospitals, around 2,600 in September 2014, remains unchanged since December 2013. This shows that the Department has made absolutely no progress in closing unnecessary mental health hospitals. This is hardly surprising when there is no financial incentive for local areas to bring patients home.
The data used by NHS England to help it meet its commitments is wholly inadequate when it does not yet even accurately track the true number of people going in and out of these hospitals. It is also deeply concerning to learn that the NAO found errors in 70% of the patient records it looked at.
Improving care in the community for people with learning disabilities who pose a risk to themselves or others is not easy, but progress in getting to grips with this has been unacceptably slow. I expect the Department and NHS England to tell my committee what they are going to do to improve this situation.