Background The recent events at Winterbourne View refocused attention on abuse of people with learning disabilities, and there is an acceptance of the need for system wide change as a result of the enquiries that followed the uncovering of these events. That change has posited the need to close Winterbourne View type services and help [read the full story…]
Last year, we posted a guest blog by Pauline Heslop, a researcher at the Norah Fry Research Centre, who set out the alarming findings of a confidential enquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities. The enquiry found that people with learning disabilities die significantly younger in England and Wales than people without learning [read the full story…]
Background The recent position paper by the Royal College of Psychiatrists on the need for in-patient beds for people with learning disabilities was published as part of the response to the Winterbourne View scandal. The paper made it clear that it was important to make a very clear distinction between the function of in-patient support [read the full story…]
Background The Care Programme Approach (CPA) was introduced in the early 1990s as a response to a number of high profile situations involving significant lack of coordination of care. The CPA meant that anyone with experiencing severe mental health problems and who meets one or more criteria, should have their care co-ordinated under the Care [read the full story…]
Background Personalised or individualised supports are those which respond to unique needs of an individual, which focus on their personal assets and abilities; accentuate choice and control and are delivered in the community alongside other citizens. In recent years in the Republic of Ireland, there has been an increasing focus in public policy on personalisation [read the full story…]
Background The process of preparing for adulthood, whilst opening up a range of opportunities, can also be a worrying and difficult time. In the case of young people with learning disabilities who have been supported by children’s services, there is the additional issue of dealing with the transition of support from those services to services [read the full story…]
Background The use of social media is becoming increasingly important in establishing social identity, with individuals receiving often instant feedback online. In terms of social identity theory, it has been argued that the label of learning disability can become a person’s primary identity and impact on the interactions the person has with others, often shaping [read the full story…]
Background When asked to consider what makes life good for us, we might often think about the central place of choice – the choice of what we wear, what we eat, how we spend our time, the work we do – all these things will be part of our identity. If we need support, then [read the full story…]
Background Adult safeguarding in Scotland is subject to legislation passed in 2007, known as the adult Support and Protection Act it gives social workers the right to enter any place if part of adult protection inquiries and, if they get approval from the court, it also allows them to someone at risk for assessment and [read the full story…]
Background A number of reports in recent years have highlighted concerns about the treatment of patients with learning disabilities in NHS hospitals, highlighting poor communication, incorrect assumptions about quality of life and poor understanding by healthcare professionals putting people at continued risk of poor care – and even death. In 2008, the publication of the [read the full story…]
