Last January a fire killed
8 men with intellectual disabilities.
They were in an institution in Vejprty.
Vejprty is a town in Czechia.
30 other people were injured because of the fire.
It was with sadness and shock, but not surprise, that we learned about the abuses (including physical violence and mental torture) that persons with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities and persons with autism were subjected to at the Whorton Hall specialist hospital in the United Kingdom.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged member states to “immediately start to transition to the abolition of coercive practices in mental health settings”.
On 20 November 2012, the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care launches a set of key guidelines on how to make a sustained transition from institutional care to family-based and community-based alternatives for children, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health problems and older persons.
On 19 January, 8 men with intellectual disabilities were killed by a fire in a “care home” in Vejprty, Czechia. Another 30 people were injured. Messages of solidarity and concern about the situation of institutions in Europe came from all over the world.