Background to the Campaign
BASW England's Homes Not Hospitals campaign addresses the urgent issue of persistently high numbers of people with learning disabilities and autistic people in inappropriate inpatient units.
Over 2000 children and adults are currently in hospitals due to a systemic failure in providing adequate community-based support and suitable living arrangements. The campaign calls for systemic change, advocating preventative approaches in commissioning and social work, prioritising a lifespan perspective, human rights-based practice, legal literacy, and co-production. It aims to empower social workers to challenge restrictive arrangements, facilitate timely discharge planning, and ensure individuals live in preferred settings with the right support.
BASW England’s Homes not Hospitals campaign brings together people and families with lived experience and a range of partners and stakeholders from across the sector.
Campaign Pack
This Spring the campaign has launched a new campaign pack and briefing for Parliamentarians. We need you to contact your local MP and send them this pack and demand they help us make Homes Not Hospitals a reality.
The briefing includes key information on what the campaign is about and what it aims to achieve. It will enable elected representatives and their caseworkers to champion and advocate for the human rights of constituents with learning disabilities and/or those who are autistic.
Send the briefing for Parliamentarians to your local MP and elected representatives along with this template later which you can personalise. You can find contact details for your MP on the UK Parliament website.
Let the Homes Not Hospitals campaign group members know when you’ve done this by posting on social media using the hashtag #HomesNotHospitals or by emailing england@basw.co.uk.
Voices from Homes Not Hospitals
Nobody can explain the issue better than those with lived experience of these hospital units.
Amy Telford is autistic and spent three years in such a unit. She recalls “no real autism support” and her struggles to “integrate into the everyday life of the ward”. Now living in the community Amy is much happier.
The unit was loud and so intense, it just wasn’t nice. I got stuck there because they couldn’t find a more suitable autism specialist unit. They were the wrong environments, they weren’t recovery-based and autism specific, even though they were saying they were.
If I had the plans I have now when I was younger, a lot of what I went through could have been avoided. Also, having the support in the community rather than having to be in an in-patient unit would have really helped.
Andrea Attree family carer describes her struggle trying to get support for her daughter Danielle:
She was going through a crisis that could easily have been supported in the community. There are so many parents who don’t know what to do, they are frightened. It is a really hard fight.
We need to stop thinking we need more hospitals. We wouldn’t need these places that cost millions of pounds to build and run if we had the community services. If we don’t break that cycle, we are just investing in a broken model.
Samantha Lamb who has learning difficulties said:
If I was to meet the Prime Minister my message would be stop putting people in assessment and treatment units and put more funding into the community so people can live a normal life in the community.
Support for Social Workers
A set of resources, webinars, statements and guidance have been developed for social workers to use to support their practice and also to promote the campaign.
Best Practice Commissioning with Citizens & Communities Statement
Best Practice Commissioning with Citizens & Communities Statement
This statement has been developed to support social workers and organisations involved in commissioning support for autistic people, people with learning disabilities and their families in response to Building the Right Support and Evaluation of Building the Right Support.
The Role of the Social Worker & Legal Literacy
The Role of the Social Worker & Legal Literacy
This document is for social workers in a range of settings and roles who are supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people (who may also have mental health problems), their families and carers.
The easy read version is available here.
Examples of Best Practice Commissioning with Citizens & Communities
Key Guidance & Resources
Top Tips for Social Workers
This document for social workers in a range of settings and roles who are supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people (who may also have mental health problems), their families and carers.
The easy read version is available here.
Quick Guide: Legal Literacy
A guide to help understanding of and when to apply the main statutory legal frameworks.
Additional Information
Maris Stratulis, BASW England National DirectorThese resources developed collaboratively with people and families and key partners from across the sector have been designed to support best practice with commissioning and to enable social workers to uphold people’s human rights.