United Response is supporting a growing number of people with complex needs to live full and meaningful lives in the local community.

Unfortunately, however, far too many people with complex needs continue to live in inappropriate long-stay institutions, far away from their homes and the people that know and care for them.

The worst example of this was brought to light in May 2011, by the BBC’s shocking documentary highlighting the plight of those living in Winterbourne View, a long-stay hospital in Bristol.

The Winterbourne View scandal shed a light not just on the practices at that particular institution, but on the unacceptable way in which some people were assessed, and the way in which they were cared for in such long term care institutions known as Assessment and Treatment Units or ATUs.

In the wake of the Winterbourne View Scandal, the care sector and the Government alike called for immediate action to move people out of these inappropriate settings once and for all, and the Transforming Care programme was established.

Five years on, and despite numerous calls to action and Government reports, backed by the care sector and parties across the political spectrum, thousands of people with learning disabilities and/or autism continue to be cared for in inappropriate inpatient settings.

United Response is working to try and change this; responding to consultations, meeting officials and sharing knowledge and best practice about its use of Active Support and Positive Behaviour Support to successfully move people out of long-stay inpatient settings to homes of their own in the local community.

Unfortunately, more work still needs to be done to support people to move out of ATUs and to support them to live and remain in residential care within the community.

United Response continues to campaign for action towards appropriate support in the community which has unanimous support, but which is far too slow in its implementation.

In particular, we support calls for funding to be made available to enable the development of a resilient and highly skilled community-based workforce and sufficient housing so that vital care for people with complex needs can be delivered in the community.

You can support the work that we do on Transforming Care by following us on Twitter and retweeting our latest messages as we try to bring about change.