The Scottish Government has pledged to tackle the “completely unacceptable” way people with learning difficulties have been stuck far from home or in hospitals.
Yesterday, Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart promised significantly fewer people would be placed in this position by March 2024.
Last month, the Daily Record told how people with learning disabilities were languishing for years in hospitals when they wanted to be living independently.
Stewart said: “For every day spent unnecessarily in hospital, a person loses part of their connection with their community, their family and their friends.
“We are not protecting the rights of people with learning disabilities and complex needs if they remain in hospital when they should be living at home, or in a homely environment with the right support.
Stewart added it was “unacceptable” that people were spending time in hospitals or other care settings when they were medically fit for discharge.
Recommendations were made yesterday in a report on “warehousing” ordered by the Scottish Government.
The Coming Home report called for a national register of those with learning disabilities stuck in hospital and a national oversight panel to hold local authorities to account.
Jan Savage, director of Enable Scotland, called it “a human rights emergency”.
She said: “It is a national scandal – hidden in plain sight. People who have a learning disability are being forced to live far from home, in hospital or care settings where they are uncomfortable and unhappy.
“People who have learning disabilities are being subjected to a level of discrimination that we do not expect other groups in our society to bear.”
Due to lack of support to live in their own communities, more than 1000 adults have been sent by local authorities to live “out of area”. A further 67 are living in hospital, with 10 per cent being there for more than a decade.
Dr Anne Macdonald, Scottish government professional adviser on learning disabilities, said in the past people had been “forgotten about”, often hundreds of miles from home.
And she said for people with complex needs, living a full life in the community near family was a “human right” and “non-negotiable”.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
