Life in a mental health unit when you shouldn't be there

Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

Emma Tracey speaks to the mother of a 35 year old woman with learning disabilities who has been living in a mental health facility “unnecessarily” for three years. She says there is no reason for her to be living there and that it's due to lack of appropriate housing and care in the community. We also hear from autistic author Alexis Quinn who feels let down by the system but is living in her own home now. Mencap's analysis shows over 2,000 learning disabled or autistic people are inappropriately leading restricted lives in hospital. Dan Scorer from the charity shines some light on the situation as the government again misses its own target to bring down the numbers. Last week prime minister Rishi Sunak outlined the Conservative's plans to change work and Personal Independent Payments (PIP) benefits if they win the pending general election. Talk of benefits change is always concerning and Drew Hyndman from the Access All team combs through what he said and puts it in perspective. Activist Shani Dhanda is presently the number one most influential disabled person in the UK according to Shaw Trust's Power 100 list. As the proud Brummy starts a new programme on the BBC's Asian Network, she talks to us about her journey to understanding what being disabled means. Access All was made by Niamh Hughes, Alex Collins, Drew Hyndman, and edited by Damon Rose and Alex Lewis. Recorded and mixed by Dave O'Neill. The Senior Editor is Sam Bonham. "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" to play the latest episode. Or subscribe on BBC Sounds app or website.