During my journalistic career I have spoken to traumatised people around the world suffering terrible consequences of war, earthquakes and torture. Yet one of the most disturbing interviews I conducted was six years ago with a friendly mother of four children from Bristol called Adele Green, who detailed the barbaric treatment of her son by a mental health charity operating under the wing of the sacred National Health Service.
There have been scores of damning inquiries, devastating reports and disturbing media revelations, dating back to the BBC’s expose of abuse at Winterbourne View hospital in 2011 that led to– and much of this cash goes to dreadful private providers.
This makes sense – although pressure should be backed by sanctions for sluggish local health commissioners, who hold purse strings but are never held accountable. It would be good to believe this move might be supported by Rishi Sunak, given his laudable promotion of accessible toilets in public places for people with profound disabilities.