Excellence and Choice in Learning Disability Services

More documents

Recommendations

Info

1.0 ForewordWilliam McKee, Chief ExecutiveThis consultation is being carried out by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trustto address the future delivery of adult learning disability services across the cityof Belfast.Improving the lives of people with learning disabilities is a priority for the NorthernIreland Executive, the DHSSPSNI, the HSC Board and the Belfast HSC Trust.Citizenship and inclusion are key cornerstones to enabling people with learningdisabilities to live full and meaningful lives. Equal Lives, the Learning DisabilityReport produced by the Bamford Review, stressed the importance to people withlearning disabilities of living an ordinary life, participating in society and accessingservices in the same way as the rest of the general population.Belfast HSC Trust works in partnership with a number of bodies to improve thehealth of the population and to ensure that high quality services are availablelocally. Significant investment has been made in recent years to improve the livesof people with learning disabilities by enhancing the services available to them inthe community. This is part of a bigger plan to reduce the need for people to haveto go into hospital and to support them living with the fullest possible participationwithin their community. In addition, we aim to make the best use of all ourresources to promote services that are individualised and of a high standard.This document explains the reasons why we need to make changes to howcommunity services and inpatient services are delivered in the city of Belfast andin the regional services at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. It also presents anopportunity for you to comment on the plans. Please feel free to raise any otherissues that you think have been missed or that you believe need to be taken intoconsideration.The Belfast Trust is committed to engaging with members of the public and looksforward to hearing from you. Details of how to submit your feedback can be foundin Appendix 3.As the Chief Executive of the Belfast HSC Trust I would like to thank you for yourinterest in this consultation exercise and for taking the time to get involved.3
1.1. Introduction / Policy ContextThis paper outlines the proposed strategic direction for the learning disabilityservice in the Belfast Trust. Some consultation has already taken place withpeople with learning disabilities and their families in developing the strategy. Thepurpose of the paper is to seek views on the strategic direction for adult learningdisability services from the wider population.Regional policy for learning disability services has already been developedthrough the Bamford review on mental health and learning disability. The Reviewwas undertaken because it was recognised nationally that people with learningdisabilities were often marginalised in society and found it difficult to access thesupport that they needed. Valuing People was published in England in 2001 andit laid out a strategy to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities inEngland. Wales and Scotland produced similar strategies and the BamfordReview was undertaken to examine what was needed in the Northern Irelandcontext.The Equal Lives report (2005) was the part of this review specifically aimed atpeople with learning disabilities and the Government’s Implementation ActionPlan (2009) was recently published to take forward the recommendations ofEqual Lives. The strategic direction of the Belfast Trust as outlined in this paperis in line with the recommendations in the Action Plan.The Equal Lives report highlighted that people with a learning disability inNorthern Ireland do not enjoy equality of opportunity and that they are oftenexcluded from the opportunities that other citizens enjoy. The report went on tosay that whilst there had been some progress in making people’s lives moreinclusive, there was need for a major and co-ordinated development programmefor learning disability services over the next 15 - 20 years in order to resolve fullythe difficulties outlined in the reportThe Belfast HSC Trust published New Directions in 2008 as a means ofcommunicating the Trust’s vision for the modernisation and reform of local healthand social care services. The future development of learning disability servicesas outlined in New Directions was entirely in keeping with the recommendationsof the Equal Lives report.This document goes further than New Directions and outlines more detailed plansfor the future services in Belfast and at Muckamore Abbey Hospital.1.2 ResourcesThe Equal Lives report made 74 recommendations to take forward its vision forthe future provision of learning disability services. Full implementation of theserecommendations had an estimated additional cost of approximately £175 millionover a fifteen to twenty year period. It was recognised that these large sums ofmoney were not immediately available and accordingly the Equal Lives report setout some immediate (2006 –2012) and medium -term (2012 –2020) objectives.4
Page 6 and 7: Whilst the report acknowledged that
Page 9 and 10: 3.0. SOMEWHERE TO LIVE AND A FULLER
Page 11 and 12: This supports the concept of indivi
Page 13 and 14: Level 1Many people with learning di
Page 15 and 16: Respite services will be developed
Page 17 and 18: 6.0 CONCLUSIONThis paper has highli
Page 19 and 20: Appendix 2Programme of consultation
Page 21 and 22: 1. Somewhere to live and a fuller l
Page 23 and 24: (d) Are there any other issues that
Page 25 and 26: Appendix 4Availability in other for
Page 27 and 28: Any service user or potential user

Excellence and Choice in Learning Disability Services

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?