Raising concerns with NAS: sponsorship of NAS conference

This is the first of three letters I'm sending to the NAS to raise concerns about key issues that I believe they should be addressing as a matter of urgency.  The first letter relates to the sponsorship by Nua Health Care of the NAS Professional conference in March 2015 in the light of allegations made about the mistreatment of Anthony Kletzlander, a young man with autism who is in an institution run by Nua Health Care.  You can read more about the allegations and the NAS's response to them here.

 

I will be sharing any responses I get from NAS to all the issues I am raising with them.  Here is my first letter:

 

Dear Mark

I write to raise my concerns about sponsorship of the 2015 NAS Professional Conference.

These relate to Anthony Kletzlander, the young Irish man with autism who, it is reported, was placed against his will and against the wishes of his family in an institution run by Nua Health Care.

It is also reported that Nua Health Care administered anti-depressant medication and took him off his gluten-free diet: both actions being against his wishes and the wishes of his family.  Furthermore, Nua Health Care has refused to acknowledge Anthony's subsequent hospitalisation, which Anthony's family believe to be a direct result of Nua's actions.

Nua Health Care is one of the organisations sponsoring the NAS's conference in March 2015.  I understand that when concerns were raised about Nua Health Care's sponsorship of the NAS conference your response was to claim that the NAS had undertaken 'due diligence' in relation to Nua Health Care before accepting sponsorship.

I also understand that NAS has not contacted Anthony's family to investigate the above allegations further even though, if they are true, they amount to a serious abuse of Anthony's human rights as well as a breach of Nua Health Care's duty of care to Anthony.

Due diligence generally refers to the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or a transaction with another party.  In relation to the care that NAS should take, I contend that that the NAS should avoid receiving sponsorship from any organisation that operates poor practice and/or behaves unethically in relation to the care and treatment of people with autism.

 

In view of the reported failings in the care provided by Nua Health Care for Anthony and the possible breach of his human rights, I request that the NAS engage the services of an independent third party to investigate the Kletzlander family's allegations.

I further request that if these allegations prove to true the NAS withdraw from its arrangement with Nua Health Care.

I look forward to your response.

 

End of letter.  If you want to write your own letter about sponsorship of the NAS conference, please do, as Anthony's supporters are keen for as many emails/letters of protest to be sent to NAS as possible in order to convince them to drop their association with Nua Health Care.  The Chief Exec's email address is mark.lever@nas.org.uk.

 

Two more letters to NAS to come later on different issues and later on this week there'll be an update on progress to date with my attempts to access Children's Continuing Care funding.