Better Outcomes for People with a Learning Disability

Quality Network Public Statements

Advance is committed to making sure that all of the services which it provides are of the best possible quality. The main way in which we try to do this is our Annual Service Review. This is carried out each year by Advance staff and service users, with the help of outside people who know about and understand the work we do, for example social workers and care managers. It looks at some of the key areas of services such as:

• Enjoying Dignity and Respect
• Good Quality Housing
• Having Access to the Local Community
• Meeting Individual Support Requirements.

Each year the results of the Annual Service Review are published and plans are made to improve any areas where things could be better.

From this year (2000) Advance has decided to do something on top of the Annual Service Review. We wanted an organisation outside Advance to help us take a look at the quality of our services. This will help us to check that our Annual Service Review is giving us accurate information, it will help us draw up our plans to improve services and, in general, help us to develop and move forward our ideas about quality.

The organisation we chose to work with is The Quality Network. This is a growing group of organisations that support people with learning disabilities. Launched in May 1998, it encompasses residential, day and other kinds of services. It is supported by the British Institution of Learning Disabilities and the National Development Team - two major organisations dedicated to new approaches to providing services and the promotion of good practice.

In future years, Advance will be extending this approach so that it also works with outside organisations to look at the quality of its mental health service.

The Review Process

Working with representatives of the Quality Network we decided to review 3 different types of services in different locations:

a) Our Abingdon Supported Living Project:
Set up in 1997, this was a pilot project, where all service users chose where to live and with whom. The majority of people live in their own flats or houses. The service now covers 15 people.

b) Reading Road, Farnborough:
This is a registered care home for 6 people.

c) Halimote Road in Aldershot:
This is a small group home for 3 people and has been open since 1983. Residents here receive outreach support from a support worker based at Reading Road.

Two Quality Network "Coaches" were appointed to help Advance carry out the review. Rachel Raymond and Jenny Gupta. The Review Team was then put together, and we made sure that this included:

• People using services
• Outside professionals
• Advance support staff and managers
  
  

Our Review Team comprised:

• Derek Healy: Advance Operations Director (Quality Leader)
• Stephen Cotterill: My Life, My Choice Self Advocacy Project - Oxon
• Laraine Dean: Care Manager, Hampshire Social Services
• Amanda Grosvenor: My Life, My Choice Self-Advocacy Project - Oxon
• Stephen Kemp: Care Manager, Oxfordshire Social Services
• Steve Parker: Advance Support Worker, Farnborough
• Mal Pieridis: Advance Team Leader, Andover
• Catherine Stephenson: Facilitator for My Life, My Choice
• Sue Talbot: Advance Team Leader, Witney
• Heather Woodward: Advance Support Worker, Abingdon

Each member of the review team made up to 4 visits (each visit lasting at least a couple of hours) to one particular service user. The aim was to get a very clear picture of the quality of service and life which that person was enjoying. Gathering all the information together, the whole review team then gave ratings for the quality of experience each individual had against ten agreed outcomes (see Outcomes Section).

A total of nine service users at Abingdon, Farnborough and Aldershot gave very freely of their time to enable us to carry out this review. Without their efforts, this kind of review simply could not take place and we are extremely grateful to them.

The Review Timetable

The Review Team along with the Quality Coaches held 3 workshops (3 April, 5 May and 23 May 2000) to co-ordinate and plan their work and to draw up an Action Plan. They were joined for the final workshop (Action Planning) by Stuart Rigg (Advance Chief Executive) and John Masters (Advance Operations Manager).

Conclusions of the Review

The overall Conclusions of the Review were as follows:

Key Things that are going well with the Services

• Good opportunities for employment of service users (Abingdon particularly)
• Lots of people have active lives and a vision about what they want to do
• This is backed up by a general expectation that people will do things with their lives.
• A lot of people are enjoying dignity and respect in their day to day lives
• Advance is generally sensitive to people's needs, particularly so in Supported Living settings.
• A lot of people are receiving good support to stay fit and healthy
• Supported Living is empowering people to make fundamental choices

Areas where improvements are needed

• There needs to be a wider range of employment opportunities for people with different abilities
• People's chances to move on to more independent accommodation seem to be limited by the area they live in, and sometimes move on needs to be planned earlier
• There are some signs that recording, following up on and carrying through decisions and choices is not always happening
• Some people moving on from registered homes sometimes need better support
• Some people are experiencing harassment in their local communities
• There are some signs that people who have greater disabilities and/or live in
  registered homes have less active lives and opportunities

Other Areas to focus on:

• Involving service users in the design of buildings
• Engaging independent facilitators for service user meetings
• Developing guidance for staff on contact with service users families.

Progress on Advance Action Plan - May 2000

Key Statement 1:

Advance has modified its Harrassment and Complaints procedures. These are being processed through the Users Advisory Panel and will be publicised through leaflets and newsletter.

Internal monitoring systems have been amended.

A programme of training for staff and users has begun and will be ongoing, using a variety of national and local programmes, eg BILD's abuse training and Streetwise in Bournemouth for Personal Safety.

Key Statement 2:

All users have a personal file and support agreement

The development of these records is linked to Advance's programme of training in Person Centred Planning for staff

Key Statement 3

Direct payments and shared ownership have been publicised

Supported living is being developed internally, in addition, the ethos is used in registered homes.

Advance is a partner in making a video 'Get Connected', depicting 3 life stories.

The Annual report includes user's stories

Key Statement 4:

Advance finance their users who are starting work from its charitable funds

Advance is launching a new employment initiative with Carr Gomm and United Response

Advance is committed to making sure that all the services which it provides are of the best possible quality. The main way in which we try to do this is our Advance Service Performance Review. This is carried out each year by Advance staff and service users, with the help of outside people who know about and understand the work we do, for example social workers and care managers. It looks at some of the key areas of services such as:

- Enjoying Dignity and Respect
- Good Quality Housing
- Having Access to the Local Community
- Meeting Individual Support Requirements.

Each year the results of the Advance Service Performance Review are published and plans are made to improve any areas where things could be better.

In 2000 Advance decided to do something on top of the Advance Service Performance Review. We wanted an organisation outside Advance to help us take a look at the quality of our services. This would help us to check that our Advance Service Performance Review was giving us accurate information, help us draw up our plans to improve services and, in general, help us to develop and move forward our ideas about quality.

The organisation we chose to work with is The Quality Network. This is a growing group of organisations that support people with learning disabilities. Launched in May 1998, it encompasses residential, day and other kinds of services. It is supported by the British Institution of Learning Disabilities and the National Development Team – two major organisations dedicated to new approaches to providing services and the promotion of good practice.

Derek Healy - Advance Operations Director ( Review Team Leader)
James Baker - Advance Service User, Christchurch
Craig Dearden - Speaking Up, Cambridge
Amy Forgacs - Speaking Up , Cambridge
John Godwin - Advance Support Worker, Portsmouth
Jane Kellett - Community Team, Waterlooville
Paul Kniveton - On Track, Petersfield
Anna Stephenson - Student Social Worker, Bournemouth Social Services
John Woodhouse - Speaking Up, Cambridge

• Workshop One for Review Team Training was held on 12 March.
• Workshop Two (Summary of Findings) took place on 23 April.
• Workshop Three (Action Planning) was held on 8 May.

• Review Team visits to individual service users in Portsmouth and Bournemouth took place between 13 March and 22 April.

 

• Organisational Action Plan - We have once again drawn general lessons for the organisation from the particular experiences of these service users. These have been compounded into an Organisational Action Plan (see next page).

• Individual Action Plans – Additionally this time the Review Team put its heads together and, based on the observations made in the course of our visits, came up with a suggested action plan for each individual who kindly agreed to take part in the review. These plans have been discussed with the individual involved and staff at their project. Progress with these plans will be looked at in a few months time and discussed when the Review Team gets together again with Jenny Gupta in November.

1. Person Centred Planning