Got spammed with a @mencap_charity begging ad on instagram this morning; promises of independence and pleas for money in wills, usual waffle.
Thing is when I think of Mencap I don't think of independence, I think of #deathbyindifference, in their services 1/19
Thing is when I think of Mencap I don't think of independence, I think of #deathbyindifference, in their services 1/19
I think of Danny Tozer, and his family. They trusted Mencap to provide him with care, they believed their promises of independence but we heard at @TozerInquest how his independence dwindled away 2/19
Two years ago today, at Danny's final pre-inquest review hearing Mencap argued there should be no jury at his inquest and the scope of it should be limited. No full and thorough investigation required into deaths in their care, thank you very much georgejulian.co.uk/2018/03/13/bri… 3/19
Who was Danny Tozer I hear you ask. You can read more here georgejulian.co.uk/2018/04/16/who… he was a people person, who loved music, being outdoors, drinking tea. He ran the York 10k the month before he died. He was fit, healthy and very well loved by his family and friends 4/19
@CareQualityComm inspected @mencap_charity domiciliary care services in York a couple months after he died and found it required improvement cqc.org.uk/sites/default/… It was not always safe, not always effective, not always caring, not always responsive, not always well-led 5/19
After Danny died there was no internal investigation conducted by @mencap_charity and there was no safeguarding investigation conducted by @CityofYork
Not really the response you'd hope for from the self-appointed 'leading voice of learning disability' 6/19
Not really the response you'd hope for from the self-appointed 'leading voice of learning disability' 6/19
The evidence we heard at Danny's inquest was harrowing; you can read all the tweets @TozerInquest. There is a summary post here georgejulian.co.uk/2018/04/29/dyi… 7/19
The brilliant @JayneMcCubbinTV did some digging when covering Danny's inquest and uncovered that there had been 85 unexpected deaths in @mencap_charity since 2010 (remember this was 2yrs ago), roughly two deaths every three months 8/19
We don't see @mencap_charity Mencap reporting on what they learn from them, given the lack of internal interest in what happened to Danny I imagine there is very little/no scrutiny into those deaths at all. Would love to be shown otherwise 9/19
Danny's parents spent years raising concerns with @mencap_charity about the lack of activities, the fact he'd spend hours stuck in the house with nothing to do, the fact his needs weren't met, they were concerned about his safety 10/19
They even paid for a psychologist from another care provided to train the @mencap_charity Mencap staff because their knowledge was so woeful.
Remember this is an organisation currently campaigning about mandatory training for health staff 11/19
Remember this is an organisation currently campaigning about mandatory training for health staff 11/19
The psychologist's evidence is eye popping; imagine having to impress upon the leading voice of learning disability that they need to develop rapport with someone they're supporting, that they need to be kind 12/19
You can read a summary of Danny's inquest here georgejulian.co.uk/2018/05/01/a-m… and if you watch the @BBCBreakfast report you can see the appalling response from @mencap_charity 13/19
So, in summary, no I'll not be leaving Mencap any money in my will. I don't trust that they're the right people to support anyone's independence. I don't believe that their interest in mandatory training is anything other than eyes on another income stream 14/19
I don't think that they can campaign and provide rubbish services, its hypocrisy of the highest order. I don't believe they should be 'calling on' government, health professionals, society to change its own behaviour until they have their own house in order 15/19
I thought I'd have a quick pop onto their website to see how the leading voice of learning disability has responded to the #coronavirus outbreak. Deathly silence mencap.org.uk/press-releases 16/19
My final thought is that #coronavirus is likely to lead to the cancellation of the @LondonMarathon and it couldn't happen to a more deserving charity partner... 17/19
Perhaps @mencap_charity should walk/run a mile in the Tozer family's shoes, and those of other families they've let down, before concentrating on income generation. I'm not convinced that they need the money, they're not fit for it 18/19
In the meantime if anyone is interested in easy read information about #coronavirus then check out @InclusionNorth information here inclusionnorth.org/coronavirus-ea… /END
Also check out @Photosymbols info on #coronavirus for a text lighter version thanks @katetokley for sharing /END+1
