The Big Question

Joan Scott Inspired Services
No! I feel strongly about this. All it is doing is opening
another more expensive hospital. It is not giving them the chance
to live in their own homes. The idea was to close down long-stay
hospitals, not replace them. We must stop authorities from sending
people to these private places. They are to blame for this and the
government for allowing them to do it. 

Jean Stogdon Grand- parents Plus
Institutional care is sometimes justified if people get the care
and attention they need. Baroness Warnock, a very wise woman, has
accepted that she was wrong on this issue. But such care should not
be provided by the private sector. If it’s a business and it is
being run commercially, where is the accountability in the
system?

Karen Shook Disability equality adviser
Since the early 1990s lots of little “hospitals” have opened to
replace the long-stay ones. There will always be people with
complex needs who need nursing care. But caring for them in small
community settings is seen as an expensive option and private
organisations provide cheaper care in large residential
settings.

Len Smith Gypsy activist
I’m not too bothered about who provides the care, so long
as it is of a good standard and right for the patient. Often, the
old long-stay care for people with learning difficulties was
inappropriate. Some were confined in “mental hospitals” with
obviously detrimental effects. But if this is the way to obtain
appropriate care provision, then why not?