The Senedd supported calls to end the human rights scandal of autistic people and those with a learning disability being inappropriately detained in hospitals.
Hefin David tabled a cross-party motion on the Stolen Lives campaign led by families whose loved ones have been trapped in hospitals due to a lack of community support.
The Caerphilly MS shared the experience of Dawn Cavanagh’s son Jack, who was placed in an unsuitable secure residential unit more than 100 miles away.
Dr David explained that Jack was later sent to live in a psychiatric intensive care unit in Wales despite not having a mental health condition.
He said: “Imagine you, as the mother or father of that young man, seeing him experience what is effectively a prison experience simply because he’s autistic.
“Jack lived there for over two years.”
Dr David, whose daughter is autistic, told the Senedd that Jack is now thriving in a more appropriate environment after his parents overturned the decision to section him.
Leading a debate on December 4, he warned: “This, at its heart, is a human rights issue.
“We cannot risk Wales being in continual breach of the Human Rights Act 1998: the right to be safe from harm, the right to liberty, and the respect for private and family life. The inappropriate use of deprivation of liberty orders must stop.”
Carolyn Thomas raised a 1,754-name petition submitted by Stolen Lives calling for an end to the detention of learning disabled and autistic people in hospitals.
In a letter to the petitions committee chaired by Ms Thomas, the campaigners welcomed positive engagement with the Welsh Government.
But the petitioners wrote: “We need to see an action plan, with specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based goals. We need to be able to hold people to account.”
Julie Morgan noted more than 40 years have passed since publication of the all-Wales strategy, reminding members how far Wales has come.
Sarah Murphy, who was appointed mental health minister in July, said: “No-one wants to see a return to the dark days where people with learning disabilities were institutionalised.”