From The Bristol Cable: “Five years back, I became particularly interested in out-of-area placements. I was working in a team that didn’t use them. Everyone knew that locking people up miles away from home didn’t help and wasn’t recommended for people with these types of problems. We knew that every place we knew of that claimed to offer specialist treatment for this group of people was at best misguided and at worst misleading. We did all we could to help people while they stayed at home.
When I moved to a new role, it astounded me that people were sent to placements almost as the first option. People who in another part of the country would be helped in their local communities, were torn away from their families and made to receive treatment they didn’t want.
They were all told that they were going to a specialist hospital where all the answers would be provided. Some people who told them that simply believed what the providers had told them. But others knew how bad these units were.”
