A coroner has written to the health secretary expressing concerns about the shortage of suitable supported accommodation for vulnerable people with Asperger syndrome following the death of a man in a home that had not even been inspected by the care regulator.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said advances had been made in the treatment of people with autism. They said: “But we must speed up progress even further. We are working alongside people affected, to make sure they have access to healthcare with adjustments made for their conditions. The NHS’s five-year plan for mental health will transform mental health care and improve the processes to get people with autism out of hospital and back into the community.”

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