I was an Autistic psychiatric inpatient: Here’s what I would change in the mental health system
Autistic people are exposed to inordinately high rates of trauma and mistreatment. It is unsurprising then that a large portion of us develop mental health struggles. Where there are concerns around mental health, there are also issues regarding inpatient treatment, both voluntary and involuntary, under the UK’s Mental Health Act. There are currently 1,310 Autistic people under inpatient care, with 93% of inpatients under 18 being Autistic (as of this report in June 2023). Inpatient mental health treatment is a significant issue not just because of our mental health, but also because many of us have been forced to remain in such facilities for months, if not years.
Why are there so many Autistic people in psychiatric facilities?
According to a document submitted to parliament. The following is a significant factor:
“The lack of appropriate community mental health care for autistic people means that some reach crisis-point and are admitted to mental health hospitals.”
National Autistic Society, Document submitted to parliament
This is not a new finding. Community mental health services in general for both adults and children are shockingly underfunded, under-resourced, and not skilled in working with Autistic service users. One might look towards the current CAMHS crisis to consider how a lack of accessibility to good quality and timely assessment and treatment in the community can result in a person reaching crisis point.
We also need to consider the lack of social care support from local authorities. Autistic people all over the country are often gatekept out of vital services that they are entitled to due to failure in the social care sector. Long waits for mental health and social care services are potentiating the the journey towards mental health crises.
What was my own experience as an Autistic inpatient?
Psychiatric wards are intimidating places. I spent the first 48 hours under round the clock supervision. Every aspect of my day-to-day life was under the microscope. Something I witnessed regularly and experienced myself, was the use of restraint. For me, this took the form of chemical restraint, being given powerful tranquilisers that kept me quiet and sedentary. Staff would treat me as a nuisance in their workplace, forgetting that I did not want to be there anymore than they wanted me there.
The building was almost prison-like in its design, with doors that could be closed and locked at the touch of a button, and walls with wire fences on top of them. The beds had plastic mattresses with plastic pillows. Sleep was not an issue because of how sedated they kept me. Staff had no idea how to even identify an Autistic patient, let alone good practice for working with them.
Restraint in psychiatric wards
Autistic people are significantly more likely to be the victims of restraint and seclusion. The International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion recently published a report into the use of restraint in schools showing just how common this is in non-psychiatric settings. I assure you it is worse on psychiatric wards.
Chemical restraint is very commonly used in this setting, in fact, I would argue that every single one of us on the ward was chemically restrained. The Care Quality Commission found the following:
“The Mental Health Services Dataset published by NHS Digital for August 2021 shows that 2,465 people in a mental health inpatient setting were reported to have been subject to restrictive interventions in the month, and there were 17 restraints per 1,000 occupied bed days.The data also shows that in August 2021, 790 people were subject to chemical restraint. Among these people, chemical restraint was used on average 2.5 times per person”
Care Quality Commission, December 2021
“…providers did not always recognise how distressing the use of restraint and other restrictive practices could be for people. They also did not recognise the long-term impact of being in restrained, secluded or segregated.”
Care Quality Commission, updated March 2022
It is clear that restraint is used too frequently and in dangerous ways, and yet this continues. Despite the Code of Practice calling for use of least restrictive practices, this is an issue that is prevalent for many inpatients.
What does the code of practice say about Autistic people?
The most interesting part of the code of practice is the following:
“Compulsory treatment in a hospital setting is rarely likely to be helpful for a person with autism, who may be very distressed by even minor changes in routine and is likely to find detention in hospital anxiety provoking.”
Mental Health Act (1983) Code of Practice
Given this we have to consider that the concept of least restrictive practice and the code of practice itself are being failed by the lack of adequate community services. Autistic people are being locked away because there are no better options. That should not be a good reason to do such things.
The code of practice also states:
“If a person with a learning disability or autism is detained under the Act, a comprehensive assessment of their needs should be undertaken to ensure that reasonable adjustments required by the Equality Act are made”
Mental Health Act (1983) Code of Practice
In my experience, this requirement is rarely met, with Autistic people often being given the same treatments and approaches as every other inpatient.
What can we change?
First and foremost, we can change the lack of tailored community mental health support. We should be supporting Autistic people with their mental health within their community and following principles for least restrictive practice. If Autistic people had this they would be less likely to be sectioned under the mental health act. In particular I think of the 93% of inpatients under 18 who are Autistic. How many of them were turned away by CAMHS before finding themselves under section?
Staff need to be significantly up-skilled. This means training them in Autistic experience using competent Autistic trainers who can help to contextualise information. Services would be able to better support Autistic people if they understood the nuances and differences in our experiences. Staff who are better prepares are also less likely to resort to the use of restrictive practice.
Parents need better support. Parents of Autistic people are more likely to be socially isolated creating tension in the family environment that can decrease the mental wellbeing of the whole family unit. We must also remember that many Autistic children and young people have Autistic parents and carers.
We need service user involvement models to be implemented in service commissioning. When a service is designed and implemented, it should be mandatory for service users to be involved in the design and implementation of service provision and policy. A service without the input of service users is fundamentally flawed.
Finally, we need improvements to social care provision that would allow for services to implement support that reduces the psychological burden of being Autistic in an environment not designed to support you. Improvements in social care can make a big difference to the psychological wellbeing of Autistic people.
It is clear that Autistic people require a great deal more from the services that currently exist than what is available. The issues above are not an exhaustive list and until such time that issues within the mental health system are addressed, Autistic people will continue to be inappropriately help in inpatient settings.
What can you do now?
Visit the CAMHS Crisis page of this website.
Sign the petition to make CAMHS accept Autistic young people.
Learn about Autistic experience- this seminar on burnout I am giving with Tanya Adkin is free for Autistic Parents.
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