Health trusts and local authorities in the United Kingdom have a duty to promote respect for human rights to help stop the neglect and abuse of adults with learning disabilities, a parliamentary committee report says.
The report, on the rights of adults with learning disabilities by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, found that public bodies are not fully committed to implementing government policy on rights, independence, choice, and inclusion. It also says that limited resources are undermining attempts to implement the policy.
The committee heard evidence that people with learning disabilities in health and residential settings face abusive and degrading treatment, neglect or carelessness, a lack of privacy, and a lack of dignity. It also heard evidence of malnutrition and dehydration; inappropriate use of restraint or drugs; problems with communication, particularly for patients with complex or profound learning disabilities; and negative, patronising, and infantilising attitudes towards people with learning disabilities.
The committee chairman, Andrew Dismore MP, said, “It is extremely depressing to see, 10 years after the introduction of the Human Rights Act, the way that people with learning disabilities are treated when using our services. The evidence has shown us that the consequences of a lack of awareness of people’s rights can be devastating.”
The committee reported that the situation closely mirrors the experiences of older people, on which it reported in August 2007.
The current report says, “This implies that poor treatment and neglect of some of the most vulnerable people in our society, at the times when they are ill, in need of care and support, and most dependent on others to secure their most basic and fundamental rights, is endemic.”
David Congdon, head of campaigns and policy at the learning disability charity Mencap, said, “We must see a shift in attitude backed by more resources if people with a learning disability are to be fully supported to live their lives the way they want. We hope this report will be a platform for change and will help remove the barriers faced by people with a learning disability in their daily lives.”
Among cases heard by the committee were those of a student with cerebral palsy and learning difficulties who “lost a significant amount of weight” after not being given any food to eat during a three day stay in hospital. When challenged, the hospital responded by stating that “they did not know how to feed him.”
Another case involved a patient who “suffered from arthritis in his hands and was in constant pain.” His GP refused to prescribe drugs on the grounds that “he wouldn’t understand” because he had Down’s syndrome.
