Posted 10 July 2017 - 14:02
Posted 10 July 2017 - 14:02
News
Independent units ‘profit’ from keeping patients with learning disabilities in hospital
People with learning disabilities are being turned into ‘commodities’ by independent sector organisations seeking to profit from keeping them in hospital, a shocking report claims.
People with learning disabilities are being turned into ‘commodities’ by independent sector organisations seeking to profit from keeping them in hospital, a report claims.
Lancaster University’s Centre for Disability Research states that £477 million was forecast to be spent on hospitalising just 2,500 patients with learning disabilities in 2016.
Over half – 1,290 – of the assessment and treatment unit hospital beds in England are provided by independent institutions, says the centre’s report A Trade in People.
It estimates that keeping one person in one of these beds for five years would have generated close to a million pounds (£950,000) of income.
The report authors, including Lancaster University professor of psychology, health and social care Chris Hatton, claim ‘economic factors rather than clinical need’ are driving patterns of inpatient provision.
‘It is clear to us that the way in which the healthcare economy has been encouraged to develop by recent governments turns people into commodities and liabilities,’ they say.
Market
‘The uneven spread of provision has led to the development of what is effectively a “market” of people with a learning disability, which the growth of the independent sector has intensified.’
In England, there are 270 assessment and treatment units for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.
A total of 96 are run by the independent sector and, while all are registered with Companies House, only 10% are dual registered with the Charity Commission as non-profit making.
The report estimates that in 2015-16 the value of these inpatient services to the independent sector was about £284 million.
The report team studied all 48 of the NHS England-created Transforming Care Partnerships, which aim to improve services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.
The team also drew on data from a range of other sources, including the Care Quality Commission and the UK House Pricing Index.
They found facilities are more likely to be set up in areas with low housing and infrastructure costs. This means family members face long journeys to visit patients, which limits the support they can offer and reduces the likelihood of discharge.
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