An autistic man and his family are enjoying days by the seaside after a four-year battle to have him removed from a controversial type of mental health unit. Elliot Dodds, 27, was taken to a psychiatric institution when his mental health deteriorated in April 2018 and kept in what is know as an assessment treatment unit (ATU).
ATUs were originally intended to house patients only for short periods of time while they underwent assessments. But Mr Dodds ended up staying there, with his liberties heavily restricted, for four years.
His sister Beckii Davis, 29, said: "When Elliot was admitted to hospital we hoped he’d receive the help he needed and would be home within a few weeks. Never did we think this would turn into a four-year battle.
“My emotions are all over the place now that Elliot has been released. There have been a lot of upsetting and tearful times over the last few years but it means everything to have Elliot in his new home."
Mr Dodds, who has autism and epilepsy, was living with his family as part of a community care package up until 2018. In the ATU, Ms Davis said, her brother started to deteriorate further.
“The last few years have been incredibly difficult for everyone but particularly Elliot," Ms Davis, who is from North Yorkshire, said. "Seeing him in hospital, locked away from the world and how he was deteriorating was traumatic.
“While he has complex needs nobody deserves to be treated in that way. He had no quality of life whatsoever.”
Figures from NHS Digital show that, as of June 2022, just over 2,000 people were detained in ATUs, with more than half having spent more than two years there. Kirsty Stuart, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, is supporting around 30 families who have relatives in ATUs.
She said: “Despite previous government pledges to reduce the number of people detained in ATUs, sadly we’re seeing an increasing number of families asking for help. Many have spent years trying to navigate a complex system and feel they have no option but to seek legal advice in order for their loved ones to receive the care they deserve.
"Behind every statistic is a heart-breaking story of how families are being kept apart and how those detained continue to be denied the right to a home and a family life. We once again call on the Government to listen to campaigners and do more to honour previous pledges and reduce the number of people detained in ATUs, many of whom have been detained for several years."
Mr Dodds was discharged in August, following a trial period living in the community, and now lives at home with family and the support of carers. Ms Davis said his confidence is growing and he now wants to take a trip to the capital.
“He’s settling into his new surroundings well and growing in confidence every day," she said. "He’s already been for a day out at the seaside and he’s made me a list of everything he wants to do.
"A holiday to London is the main thing. To some these may seem like ordinary things that people take for granted but they mean the world to us."
