THE DAD of an autistic teenager who is locked in a “cell” for 24 hours a day with no physical contact says she’s treated “like a vicious dog”.
Jeremy’s daughter Bethany, 18, has spent almost three years in psychiatric hospitals after being detained under the Mental Health Act aged 15.
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But the distraught dad, from Birmingham, blasted conditions at her new secure unit in Wales, where food is served to her by “sliding it across the floor”.
Jeremy, whose surname cannot be published, told Sky News: “Bethany is locked away in a cell. It is 10ft wide and 14ft to 15ft long.
“There is no furniture except a mattress on the floor that she sleeps on. There is no access to fresh air, not a window she can see out of. It’s incredibly bright.
“When it comes to feeding Beth, Beth has to move to the end of the room, sit on the floor behind a line. Only then will they open the door and slide her food in and lock the door again. That’s like feeding a vicious dog. My daughter is not an animal.”
‘Let down’
Bethany was previously at under the care of St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton, but she was moved after Jeremy argued she wasn’t getting the proper support she needed.
That was accepted after he fought a legal battle against NHS England, St Andrew’s and Walsall Council.
The family is reportedly set to receive damages after the case was settled out of court – with all parties accepting that her care was inappropriate.
[It’s] like feeding a vicious dog. My daughter is not an animal
Jeremy
A joint statement released after the case was settled said: “St Andrew’s Healthcare and NHS England have accepted that the care provided to Bethany did not always comply with the Mental Health Act Code of Practice and the NICE Guidelines on managing violence and aggression.
“This affected her wellbeing and made it harder for her to return to live in the community.”
‘Not suitable’
Bethany was then moved to her current Assessment Treatment Unit in Wales, but Jeremy says it’s still not suitable.
He told the BBC: “It’s like putting a person having a cardiac arrest into an ear nose and throat ward.
“She has deteriorated further and is now becoming even more damaged. She has deteriorated further and is now becoming even more damaged.”
She has deteriorated further and is now becoming even more damaged
Jeremy
Speaking last year about the impact it’s had on his family including son Christian, who doesn’t have a learning disability, he said: “It’s destroyed the family, totally.
“My son has so little friends because the lack of support in the early days meant that he was too scared to go to his own friends’.
“He wouldn’t leave the house after seeing how we were struggling. He couldn’t have friends round as well.
“If we had had that [support] not only would Beth be different, but our son would be so different as well.”
What is an Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU)
An Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) is a type of inpatient unit designed to facilitate the assessment and treatment of people, where this cannot be done safely in community based settings.
They are often used as emergency care, usually when someone is sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
This can happen when someone is in crisis and their existing community-based services or families are unable to cope.
They are usually supposed to be short term facilities, used until they are able to return home, or an appropriate, supportive placement is found for them.
Around 3,000 people with a learning disability or autism spectrum condition who are currently living in inpatient facilities such as ATUs and hospitals, awaiting such time as they can be found the right placement.
Source: Voiceability
Figures show that there are 2,300 special needs patients in hospitals in England and almost 60 per cent have been there for more than two years.
The number of children with a learning disability or autism in such units has more than doubled, from 110 in March 2015 to 250, according to NHS figures.
About 465 people aged between 18 and 24 with learning difficulties are also residents of inpatient units rather than living in community settings.
The health secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC he wants to reduce the number of people living in cells by a third.
A petition was launched last month to stop the detention of people with autism and learning disabilities in ATUs.
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