Care home adults 'being degraded'

It highlighted cases in which individuals were inappropriately restrained with straps or a "chemical cosh", denied treatment because of their learning disability or even assaulted.

And it said that their experiences in health and care settings reflected a wider culture in which people with learning disabilities were denied their fundamental human rights in breach of clear Government policy.

The report, from Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights, called for a "culture change" to bring the provision of services of adults with learning disabilities in line with the aspirations of the Government's Human Rights Act and the Duty to Promote Disability Equality.

The committee said it was "particularly concerned" that even after the introduction of these measures, the Government was still "searching for levers" to encourage authorities to implement the requirement to ensure dignity and respect for all.

The report found that adults with learning disabilities had little confidence in the criminal justice system and were more likely to suffer miscarriages of justice and less likely to qualify for early release.

Children of parents with learning disabilities were more likely to be taken into care, even though human rights legislation requires authorities to protect their right to a family life unless it means a child is put at risk.

But the report's most scathing findings were reserved for the experience of people with learning difficulties at the hands of those on whom they are most reliant for care and support.

The committee cited five recent publications detailing "abusive, neglectful or discriminatory practice" in health and residential care settings, including Healthcare Commission reports in 2006 and 2007 which uncovered "institutional abuse" at Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust and Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust in south London.

In another case, a man with Down's syndrome was locked in a minibus overnight and had his foot broken by day centre staff. Another man died aged 20 after developing serious health conditions while spending 96 days in an NHS psychiatric assessment unit without the appropriate staff to support him.