Parents protest to let them bring their sons home from hospital
Fraser Malcolm age 20 is just one of the young men whose families are taking their protests to the Scottish Parliament.
They say their sons are cruelly locked in hospitals, where they have far fewer rights and sometimes struggle to access basics such as time outside in the fresh air.
Fraser Malcolm has been in a secure hospital in Ayrshire for two-and-a-half years but has been recorded as "delayed discharge" since September 2022.
This means he has been cleared by doctors to be released but no arrangements have been made for him to live in the community.
The 20-year-old has a learning disability and is almost non-verbal, with complex care needs.
In February 2022, the Scottish government published the Coming Home Report, a major paper on people like Jamie and Fraser, with a "mission to significantly reduce delayed discharge… for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs by March 2024."
The families say not enough is being done to deliver on the recommendations of the report to bring people like their sons home and to give them a voice.
They are calling on the Scottish government and politicians to do more so that young men like Fraser can live in the community with the right support.
The Scottish government says it introduced a Dynamic Support Register earlier this year, designed to get a fuller picture of the hundreds of people like Fraser who may have become stuck in the system.
Fraser Malcolm age 20 is just one of the young men whose families are taking their protests to the Scottish Parliament.
They say their sons are cruelly locked in hospitals, where they have far fewer rights and sometimes struggle to access basics such as time outside in the fresh air.
Fraser Malcolm has been in a secure hospital in Ayrshire for two-and-a-half years but has been recorded as "delayed discharge" since September 2022.
This means he has been cleared by doctors to be released but no arrangements have been made for him to live in the community.
The 20-year-old has a learning disability and is almost non-verbal, with complex care needs.
In February 2022, the Scottish government published the Coming Home Report, a major paper on people like Jamie and Fraser, with a "mission to significantly reduce delayed discharge… for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs by March 2024."
The families say not enough is being done to deliver on the recommendations of the report to bring people like their sons home and to give them a voice.
They are calling on the Scottish government and politicians to do more so that young men like Fraser can live in the community with the right support.
The Scottish government says it introduced a Dynamic Support Register earlier this year, designed to get a fuller picture of the hundreds of people like Fraser who may have become stuck in the system.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:04 [Music]
00:10 Yeah, Fraser had very complex syndrome and he went into hospital 970 days ago
00:17 and we fought very hard to get him out.
00:20 Fraser's just turned 20 and he's been locked in hospital now for three years.
00:26 Really what we're looking for is some progress and accountability.
00:31 Being locked up in his room, not getting out, not getting the food that he requires is not the solution.
00:38 We have tried everything to get him and other young men and girls out
00:45 and it's resulted in having to go to the steps that we're going to today
00:48 to make the public aware that this is happening.
00:51 The Parliament put in place a project called New Routes Home to get young people with special needs
00:59 into their own front door and it's not happened.
01:02 It doesn't look like it's going to be happening any time soon.
01:05 So whilst that's the case, these young people will remain locked in hospital.
01:10 Obviously that creates its own problems.
01:13 Our young man went in with one problem, he now has multiple problems
01:19 and is just filled with drugs to sedate him.
01:22 He doesn't know why he's in there, he's non-verbal, profoundly deaf, he's scared,
01:26 he's actually terrified to come off the ward.
01:29 So we now have huge problems and nobody's listening.
01:34 The parents don't get listened to, the medical teams know best.
01:38 If you complain to the NHS, the NHS investigates the NHS
01:42 so no one's actually held accountable for anything.
01:44 [Music plays]