People with learning disabilities and autistic people locked away in Welsh hospitals

Adam Johannes

A “human rights scandal” is unfolding in Wales. People with learning disabilities and autistic people – including children – are being locked away in hospitals with no clear medical reason, largely because the care and support they need in the community is not available.

This is the central message of From Hospitals to Homes, produced by the Stolen Lives Task and Finish Group, in collaboration with the Senedd’s Learning Disability Ministerial Advisory Group.

The group, which includes the family-led campaign Stolen Lives and the self-advocacy organisation All Wales People First, has submitted recommendations to Sarah Murphy MS, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing. These focus on ending unnecessary hospitalisation, improving community support, and strengthening legal safeguards.

There are an estimated 60,000 adults with a learning disability in Wales. The findings paint a stark picture of the current system. They describe children and adults detained far from home, subjected to restraint and isolation, and left traumatised.

The report highlights cases spanning decades: “There are cases of people with learning disabilities who have been placed in hospital settings for over 30 years.”

For some children, the consequences are profound: “There are children who have lost their entire adolescence in secure hospitals.”

“The only way to end this is for Welsh Government to listen to those affected and to act. Anything less is a failure to confront the issue,” it states.

Restraint

Families say that restrictive practices – including physical and chemical restraint and solitary confinement – are being used inappropriately. Even where a mental health need exists, secure hospitals are often unsuitable and can increase distress, “often taken as justification for prolonging their incarceration,” they add.

Distance from home is another concern. Some Cardiff families, for example, have had relatives placed at St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton, which has faced criticism for “misconduct, poor staffing, and patient abuse.”

The authors explain: “When people are placed far from home they are at greater risk because they are isolated from their support networks and families,” making it harder for relatives and professionals to stay involved.

The document highlights a significant gap between legislation and practice, pointing to years of austerity decimating services. Families say the closure of specialist Learning Disability Assessment and Treatment Units has pushed people into mainstream mental health hospitals, where autism or learning disability is treated as a mental health condition.

Distressed behaviour is sometimes misinterpreted as criminal rather than understood as a response to unmet need. The report warns that “abuses in these settings cause long-term psychological harm and trauma.”

Sectioning often follows the breakdown of community placements or the raising of concerns by families. Some parents describe underfunded social workers acting as “unsupportive gatekeepers of resource.”

Injunctions

Some families report legal injunctions preventing them from speaking to the media or MPs, leaving them “completely powerless and in fear of repercussions if they do speak out, such as losing visitation rights or being shut out of decisions.”

Experts warn that these practices may breach the Human Rights Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The report lays out a raft of recommendations, including better support to stop people being admitted to hospital in the first place – and to get them home quickly if they are.

It also calls for improving community services, strengthening legal safeguards, reviewing professional practice, appointing a learning disability commissioner, and creating real accountability and transparency. It emphasises the importance of involving families and self-advocates in planning and oversight.

Response

Mental Health Minister Sarah Murphy MS, responding to the findings, said: “Many of the report’s recommendations align closely with work already underway or being developed. Others have significantly strengthened our understanding of the systemic challenges and barriers that must be addressed.”

Murphy acknowledged that several proposals would require major reforms, along with significant preparation, funding and investment. However, she said the Welsh Government would prioritise a three-year integrated learning disability service overhaul, spanning health, social care and housing.

Sioned Williams MS, Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Learning Disability, welcomed the announcement of a three-year integrated learning disability service transformation programme but stressed that it lacked specific timelines. “Families need to know what support will be provided to them in the here and now, whilst their loved ones are waiting for these system changes to be implemented,” she said.

Campaign

The report is a testament to persistent campaigning by families. In November 2023, Dr Dawn Cavanagh launched the Stolen Lives campaign to bring together families left isolated and powerless as their loved ones were detained.

Cavanagh was fighting for her son Jack – then 21, with a learning disability, autism, ADHD, and epilepsy – locked up inside a hospital.

By April 2024, families gathered on the steps of the Senedd for the Homes Not Hospitals protest. “You couldn’t see the Senedd steps because of the sheer volume of people,” Cavanagh recalled.

She described people with learning disabilities who held banners and chanted, breaking through barriers that usually exclude them from political participation, demanding reform.

Political pressure led to another milestone. In December 2024, a cross-party motion brought by the late Hefin David MS passed, calling on the Welsh Government to end inappropriate detentions.

David highlighted Jack’s experience: “Imagine you, as the mother or father of that young man, seeing him experience what is effectively a prison experience simply because he’s autistic. Jack lived there for over two years.”

After his transfer to a more suitable setting, Jack shared his impressions: “I can see the moon and the stars.” “I have grass.” “I can hear birds.” “Thank you for my new home.” And finally, “Mummy, I’m a free man.”

Cavanagh expressed hope that the report will make a difference: “To the families across Wales who are living through the nightmare scenario of their loved ones incarcerated in a seemingly pitiless and invulnerable system, I hope this report provides some confidence that things will change.”