Autistic woman incorrectly shut down mental health in hospital for 45 years

An autistic woman with a learning disability was incorrectly closed at the Mental Health Hospital for 45 years, when she was just seven years old, the BBC has learned.

The woman is believed to have originally named Kasibba by the local authority to protect her identity by the local authority, also in long -term isolation for 25 years.

Kasibba is non-verbal and had no family to speak for him. A clinical psychologist told the file on 4 how he started a nine -year fight to release it.

The Department of Health and Social Care told the BBC that it was unacceptable that so many disabled people were still being held in mental health hospitals and said that it hopes that reform in the Mental Health Act would prevent unfair custody.

More than 2,000 autistic people and people with learning inability Still in custody Mental health hospitals in England – including about 200 children. Over the years, the government has promised to transfer many of them to community care, as they have no mental illness.

The government promised to take action after the BBC undercover investigation in 2011, in which the criminal misconduct of people with the inability to learn at Winterborne View Private Hospital near Bristol was exposed.

But all major targets in England have been missed. In the last few weeks, In your plan for 2025-26NHS England stated that its objective is to reduce a learning disability and dependence on mental health care with autistic people, which provides a minimum reduction of 10%.

However, the main Dan scorer of policy and public affairs in Charity Mencap is not affected. He said, “Hundreds of people are still in custody, detained, who should have been freed and should be supported in the community, as we have not seen the progress that was promised,” he told us.

Dr. The Patasi Stite learned about the chaos of Kasibba in 2013, when she was a crook clinical psychologist, who was regularly reviewing her care. But it will take nine years to free it.

Dr. Stite told the BBC, “I had never seen anyone living in a position in which she was living. And I think what was really shocking was all valid.” He said that the establishment of a clearly valid hospital masked the reality that Kasibaba “was sometimes closed for more than 23 hours”.

Returning to the hospital site – which cannot be nominated to help protect the identity of Kasibba – Dr. Stite pointed to a hole in the fence. It was cut, he said, so Kasibaba could see people walking from the location outside the closed anx where it was held.

It is believed that Kasibaba, now in its 50s, was smuggling Sierra Leone before the age of five. She lived in the children’s house for some time, but she broke the placement and by the age of seven, she was transferred to the hospital for a long time.

Dr. Stite stated that employees had described Kasibba as “dangerous” and a “eye-gogger”.

He discovered a single incident in the records, due to which these allegations of violence were seen. Decades ago, when Kasibba was 19 years old and before she was kept in separation, a fire alarm was closed and the closed ward was being evacuated.

Kasibba was distressed and in confusion, he was approached by another patient. He scratched her, causing the eye to another patient.

Dr. Stite said, “This kind of incident was talked about,” He is an eye and he caused a lot of damage to this other person. ” But “this was just not true”, she said that a woman in a middle -aged woman, a woman with a learning disabled, could be dangerous for decades.

After months of work, Dr. Stite presented a 50 -party report to the local authority in Camden Council – North London, which originally kept Kasibba in the hospital. Dr. Stite said it had already been accepted that Kasibba had no mental illness and her report concluded that she was not dangerous and safe to live in the community.

A team of health and social care professionals was then established in 2016, which itself was called the “Escape Committee”. His mission was to free Kasibba.

Lucy Dunston, by changing our lives from the Disability Rights Organization, was appointed as an independent advocate of Kasibba and to make a compelling case for why he was safe to leave the hospital.

But the release of Kasibba can only be signed by the Court of Protection, which decides for those who do not have the mental ability to make their own.

Ms. Dunston said that when she first met Kasibaba, the hospital staff introduced her as a “I-gogger”.

She said that she sees Kasibaba through a small window in the door, which kept her closed. “She was just lying on the setty. It was a very empty room. Her life was completely damaged,” she said.

Six years ago, before meeting Kasibba before making a call to tell Ms. Dunston, the Court of Protection ruled that she could leave the hospital. “I cried. Khushi. Relief. Praise for him. Proud,” he said. “It’s not about me and what we did, but he did it and he showed them.”

Now Kasibaba supports the community with the help of workers, who join him and communicate with gentle touch, gestures and clear language. Her care manager said she loves fashion, proud of her home and enjoys social contact.

“He is the most amazing humor spirit. He is a beautiful person,” said the manager. “After about two weeks of working here, she actually came up and hugged me. It’s not an eye-gugger, you know.”

The mental health bill passing through Parliament would mean autistic people and people with inability to learn in England and Wales, who do not have mental health status, will no longer be able to detain for treatment.

But the government has said that it will not bring any change until it is satisfied, there is not enough alternative support in the community. And this will still allow people to legally detain in hospital for 28 days to assess.

Jess McGregor, adults and health executive director at the Camden Council, said it was a “tragedy” that Kasibba had held most of his life in the hospital. “I am personally sorry,” he said. “He should not have experienced what he did.”

The NHS Mental Health Trust, which cannot be nominated to protect the identity of Kasibba, said that no point was noticed at any point that it was brought in question and service was given status as dues by the Care Quality Commission.

The trust told the file on 4 that anyone was assessed that long-term isolation was evaluated as the need for long-term isolation, which had a self-contained property with their own bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms and garden.

The trust said that since 2010 it had been working with local authorities that plans should be made to support all long -term residents for more appropriate care, where possible within the community, but said they were prevented from doing so by a legal case brought by families of other patients.

It said that his employees had then tirelessly tried for years, to support the community to support the local authorities and they were able to successfully shut down the service in 2023.