From long-stay hospitals to community care: reconstructing the narratives of people with learning disabilities

Abstract

Accessible summary Raymond is a man with learning disabilities who has lived most of his life in a hospital away from the community where he grew up. After the government asked everyone to help people with learning disabilities to come back to live in the community (the Winterbourne Review), we spent time getting to know Raymond and helped him move out of hospital into his own flat. Many people believed that Raymond was too challenging to come out of hospital so one of the most important things that we did was help others to think differently about Raymond. It is important for us to tell Raymond's story so that other people with learning disabilities can be supported to move out of hospitals and live in the community. Summary Raymond, a 62 year old gentleman diagnosed with severe and profound learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder and severe challenging behaviour, who had lived in long stay campus-based hospital accommodation for 46 years was supported to move to a community project developed to support people to live in their own bespoke flat. This narrative case study describes the journey that Raymond took from institutionalised care to community life.