An autistic woman with a learning disability spent 45 years of her life wrongly locked up in a mental health hospital.
The woman, called Kasibba by the local authority to protect her identity, is believed to originally be from Sierra Leone and was first admitted to the unnamed hospital when she was just seven years old.
Dr Patsie Staite was the first to learn about the state of Kasibba’s care in 2013. It would take her another nine years to help Kasibba, who is non-verbal and now in her 50s, out of the hospital.
She said she had never seen ‘anyone living in the situation that she was living in,’ at the time.
According to her, staff at the hospital said Kasibba was ‘dangerous’ and an ‘eye gouger’.
This followed an incident in the records where Kasibba scratched another patient’s eye after she was startled following a fire alarm.
During an episode of BBC’s File on 4 Investigates, Dr Staite said the incident was ‘talked about ever since’ and that the ‘eye gouger’ comment did not ring true.
A 50-page report was submitted by Dr Staite to Camden Council – the local authority which placed Kasibba in the hospital.
She said the council had already accepted that Kasibba did not have a mental illness and the report concluded she was not dangerous and was safe to live in the community.
Jess McGregor, executive director for Adults and Health at Camden Council, told Metro: ‘It’s a tragedy – none of us would want to spend so long in hospital.
‘Kasibba shouldn’t have experienced this, but the fact that she did is what motivates us to continue working to prevent it happening to anybody else.
‘We’re doing everything we can to avoid situations where people are staying in hospital for long periods of time.
‘Where possible we’re stopping people going in and instead we support them in the community, in homes and in places they want to live.’
A team of health and social care professionals, called ‘the escape committee’ were set up in 2016 to help release Kasibba from the hospital.
It was Lucy Dunstan, from disability rights organisation Changing Our Lives, whose job was to build a case to help Kasibba.
But she could only leave the hospital if the Court of Protection signed off on it – the court that makes decisions for those who do not have mental capacity.
Lucy was introduced to Kasibba as the ‘eye gouger’ by hospital staff when she first met her.
Lucy saw Kasibba through a small window in the door that kept her locked in and described her as looking ‘impoverished’.
Since Kasibba’s release, Lucy described feeling ‘tears of joy’ and ‘pride’ at the news.
The Mental Health Bill going through parliament right now means those with learning disabilities and autism in England and Wales, who do not have a mental health condition, will not be detained for treatment.
But it will still allow people to be detained in hospital legally for up to 28 days for assessment. Changes will not be implemented until the government is satisfied there is alternative support in the community.
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care told Metro: ‘This is a troubling case which shows how our broken NHS discharge system is failing vulnerable people.
‘Our 10 Year Health Plan, backed by a £26 billion boost for the NHS and social care, will shift the focus of care from hospital to community and tackle delayed discharges by improving the links between the NHS and social care.’
Kasibba’s story also angered Dan Scorer, head of policy and public affairs at the charity Mencap.
He told Metro: ‘This is a stark reminder that over 2,000 people with a learning disability or autistic people are still locked away out of sight in mental health units, with too many languishing for years on end, with no clear way out, due to a failure to provide the right support in the community including the right social care and suitable housing.
‘This couldn’t come at a more significant time when the Mental Health Act is undergoing major reform – a once-in-a generation opportunity to make meaningful change.
‘But, to make a real difference for people with a learning disability, the right community support must be developed and right now there’s no plan to ensure this happens.
‘It’s abundantly clear there’s a solution to this. People’s lives should not be ruined in this way and the traumatic mistreatment and inappropriate detention of people with a learning disability or autistic people must end.’
The unnamed NHS mental health trust, told the BBC at no point had the care it delivered been brought into question.
It said its service was rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
It added anyone assessed as needing long-term segregation had a self-contained property with their own bedroom, bathroom, living room and garden.
The trust confirmed it had been working with local authorities to put plans in place to support the discharge of all long-term residents to more appropriate care, where possible within the community,
It said they were prevented from doing so by a legal case brought by the families of other patients.
The trust also said its staff worked tirelessly for years supporting local authorities to put support in place in the community and the service was successfully closed in 2023.
Kasibba now lives in the community, where she receives help from support workers.
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