Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP 5th October 2020 Department of Health & Social Care Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries Unit 39 Victoria Street London, SW1H 0EU
Dear Secretary of State,
Yew Tree Hospital
I am writing to express the deep concern of Disability Rights UK at the latest example of violence and cruelty against people with learning disabilities, by staff in a closed institutional setting.
The CQC exposure of the abuse at Yew Tree Hospital raises questions about the competency of the provider, the scrutiny of commissioners and the speed of the CQC investigation. Despite these incidents repeatedly occurring, there is no evident progress in closing these institutions and providing people with support in the community.
Earlier this year, government gave local authorities £62m to support moving people from institutions into the community. It is not clear how this money is being spent and how many people have now been moved into the community.
We would ask government to lead a task force with local authorities and disabled people, to produce a national action plan, that includes annual targets, planned measures and time scales.
We would be happy to discuss the above proposal and look forward to your early response.
Yours Sincerely
Kamran Mallick
Chief Executive