Woman with learning disability detained in hospital for years

• A 29-year-old woman with autism and a learning disability has been detained in a mental health hospital for two and a half years due to a lack of community care available.
• Her father says she has lost hope, is self-harming, and at one point was locked in a windowless room for five days.
• New data analysis reveals that government targets to reduce the number of people with learning disabilities and autism in hospitals have been missed and are unlikely to be met for several more years.
• The number of people with autism, but without a learning disability, in hospitals has increased by 136 per cent since 2015.
• Mencap and the National Autistic Society are urging the government to take action, emphasising the need for adequate community care provision to accompany Mental Health Act reforms.

IN FULL

‘Every day she begs for help’: Father fighting for daughter detained in hospital for years to be freed