Page 19 - Community Living Magazine 34-1

in conversation

Books about death for children were “The aim is to stop the use of long-term A thematic review of the findings of
clearly inappropriate. “There were a lot of segregation by making recommendations each review has drawn out common
words, and butterflies and stuff, and they that will actually improve the care of themes and lessons. One early lesson was
weren’t quite direct enough,” she says. So everybody who goes into an ATU. that not everyone “knew what good
she got an artist friend to help create a “If people are autistic, that must be looked like”.
book of pictures. It was called When Dad recognised and they must have a sensory A “good stories” workshop with
Died and was the first of more than 60 plan. If they have any trauma, that must self-advocates and others provided great
Books Beyond Words now published by be recognised. They should have the very content for a booklet called Helping
the charity of that name she founded. best treatment possible.” People Thrive, which was published online
The books now include a text section to by Learning Disability England and BILD, a
guide staff or others who may be helping practical guide on how to transform the
someone. “The point about the pictures is Child guidance clinic staff lives of people who have been detained
that you can invite the person to co-create would not see a family with a for too long.
the story with you,” she explains. Once the reviews were complete,
Books Beyond Words has published disabled child “because you Hollins brought the oversight panel
resources related to Covid-19, many of couldn’t cure the disability so together to review the work and,
which can be downloaded freely. They hopefully, by the time this piece is
include one about abuse during lockdown what was the point?” published, they will be close to making
called When It’s Not Safe to Stay at Home. some very practical recommendations.
Hollins is delighted that Generate in She says: “I really hope that the
south London and Gr8 Support workers And their stay should be as short as work we are doing will give hope
have been using the resources to prompt possible with discharge planned at the to families.”
discussions, for example about death and start: “If you go in for a foot operation, you Focusing on the individual person is
dying, when calling people with learning think about how you are going to get home paramount: “As soon as you start seeing
disabilities on Zoom during the pandemic. again. You don’t go in with an open ticket”. people as numbers, it becomes
In 2005, Hollins was appointed as A significant change is the introduction problematic. I think we only really
president of the Royal College of of independent chairs for the independent understand people by seeing them
Psychiatrists in which role she attended care, education and treatment reviews as individuals.”
parliament to advise on the Mental Health (ICETRs) for anybody who is being Our time is up and Sheila has to
Act 2007. detained in long-term segregation. go. She offers a summary: “My life
Then her daughter was stabbed by a A month after each review, she writes has just been one long response to
stranger in an attack that left her to the local commissioner to find out what experience and opportunity.” To which I
paralysed. The incident was made has changed: “Did the ICETR lead to a can only say: “That’s far too modest,
significantly worse by the behaviour of change in momentum or a change in Baroness Hollins!” n
the tabloid press. action? Has it galvanised those
“The most appalling things happened,” responsible for admitting someone and Seán Kelly was chief executive of the
says Hollins. Extremely intrusive personal for helping that person to be discharged Elfrida Society from 2001 to 2012 and is
details were published, along with to do anything differently?” now a writer and photographer
completely fabricated stories. The family
suspected that phone calls and emails
were being intercepted. Photographers
camped in shifts outside her daughter’s
home for weeks.
“What right have they got to do that?”
she asks. Hollins gave powerful evidence
to the Leveson Inquiry on the practices
and ethics of the British press.

House of Lords
In 2010, she was invited to join the House
of Lords as a crossbench peer, a baroness.
She has become known by many people
with learning disabilities, as well as
organisations and campaigners, as our
friend in the House of Lords.
In 2014, she became an adviser to Pope
Seán Kelly/www.seankellyphotos.com protection in the Catholic Church.
Francis for four years, advising on child

Then, in November 2019, she was asked
by the government to lead a one-year
review of the cases of about 100 people
who are detained in long-term segregation
in mental health hospitals, including
assessment and treatment units (ATUs).
Woodhouse, who created Looking After My Eyes, which is published by Books Beyond Words
Community Living Vol 34 No 1 | Autumn 2020 19
www.cl-initiatives.co.uk Baroness Sheila Hollins with co-authors Stephen Kill, Scott Watkin (both of SeeAbility) and Maggie