Assessment and treatment units (ATUs) are like a special kind of hospital ward. They are for people with learning disabilities who might also have mental ill health or if their behaviour is challenging.
In West Yorkshire, people sometimes get sent to assessment and treatment units when they don’t need to be. Some people end up staying there for a long time. This is because there is nowhere else close to where they live for them to be supported well.
We know that it is not good for people’s health and it is expensive for health care services.
In our area, there are three 'Transforming Care Partnerships'. They cover Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield and Barnsley. They want to stop people with learning disabilities being sent to assessment and treatment units when they don’t need to be. If people do need to be then they must stay in one near to where they live. Community services will be made better and people will get the right care and support for them.
This will mean that more people can stay in their own homes and be close to where their friends and families live.
In 2019 we looked at the way care is provided across the three assessment and treatment units and how as a region we make the best collective use of our services. You can read a report about when we talked to people about ATUs here. A quality and equality impact assessment has been completed and is available on request. You can call 01924 317659 or email jeanette.
More engagement with people who access care, their carers and staff who work in the units was due to start in Spring 2020, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic this activity was paused. Soon after that time, the unit in Leeds was also repurposed, due to the need for extra space related to the pandemic. However, with the support of Inclusion North, a specialist organisation who works with people with complex needs/learning disabilities, this work began on 5 October 2020, it was extended to allow more time for feedback due to challenges presented by engaging during the pandemic but ended on 30 November with the staff engagement continuing until 14 December. The report is now available and will be discussed at various committees within West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership before being presented to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Further engagement and equality report of findings
Further engagement and equality report of findings - EasyRead summary
People were able to get involved by:
- Completing an online survey about assessment and treatment units (the online survey is now closed)
- download or print a copy the survey to fill in and send back
- emailing jeanette.miller@nhs.net, call 01924 317659 or write to Freepost RTJC-KCSC-HYJZ, NHS Wakefield CCG if they wished to:
- request a paper copy of the survey
- ask to talk to one of our team in person, on the phone or online about what this would mean for you.
- ask to be part of a discussion group with other people and people who work in health and care services
All of our information and documents about the assessment and treament units are "easy read".
Engagement with staff
Letter seeking staff views on proposed changes to Assessment & Treatment Units
Progress will be communicated to staff, carers and people with lived experience of ATUs who engaged with us during this process. In the case of people with lived experience this will be by easy read letter.
More information
Our answers to some of the questions people have asked about assessment and treatment units
The letter we sent to people about assessment and treatment units
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership would like to thank Inclusion North, people with lived experience of ATU services, ATU and community staff for their support and input.
Previous ATU involvement (February / March 2019)
We looked at the way in which care is provided across three Assessment and Treatment Units (ATUs) and how as a region we make the best collective use of our services. There were 22 specialist hospital beds in West Yorkshire and we needed to look at reducing this number of beds, so that we could support people with learning disabilities and acute complex needs / challenging behaviour in their local community.
The engagement activity was delivered over a 4 week period commencing 18 February 2019. The engagement was an essential part of our process and part of a planned approach to seek the views of service users, carers, families, staff and key stakeholders who have experiences of ATUs across West Yorkshire to further to inform the next stage of our work. This next stage was how to reconfigure ATU provision in the region to ensure maximum benefit for both service users and the system.
Engagement mapping report (January 2020)
Read the engagement report of findings (May 2019)
In readiness for further talks about these services in 2020, we attended the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee papers, February 2020