Charities Calling For Open Inquiry

Three charities are calling for an independent inquiry into how a severely disabled woman was left in a bus depot overnight. It follows a story about a 44-year-old mentally and physically disabled woman who was left sitting on one of Lewisham Council’s Door2Door buses at the Wearside Depot for more than 14 hours. Transport bosses immediately suspended the driver and attendant involved and they have been subject to an internal investigation. But Lewisham Mencap, the Lewisham Disability Coalition and Lewisham Speaking Up are asking the council to begin a full and open inquiry into the incident.

The organisations, which support people with learning disabilities, believe an internal inquiry is not ‘adequate’ enough and “will not give the peace of mind people deserve.”Their letter to the council states: “We will not be alone in asking what went wrong. There are many unanswered questions and we are greatly concerned, as are many, lessons are learnt. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

They believe a panel should be independently chaired and include people with learning disabilities and other independent stakeholders. And they want a public report containing answers to their questions and recommendations to ensure future safety.

Lewisham Mencap vice-chairman Nick O’Shea said: “We expect the council to comply with our request. It’s an extremely worrying case.”

On August 3 the council revealed its investigations were complete and the driver and the attendant had both resigned.

The council says it is determined to ensure every detail is brought to light and will be launching a full serious case review in line with adult protection procedures.

Deputy mayor Councillor Heidi Alexander said: “To ensure the process is transparent and robust, we will invite an independent representative from an organisation which works with vulnerable adults to take part in the review panel. We will be inviting the Lewisham Disability Coalition, Lewisham Mencap and Lewisham Speaking Up to contribute any specific issues they want the review to investigate. We appreciate organisations will want to ensure every possible lesson is learned from this unacceptable incident.”