Working together to deliver better outcomes for people with learning disabilities, and their families and carers

The Adult Learning Disability Strategy 2018 – 2023 was developed in response to national and local policy expectations, together with the expressed views of local people, staff and other stakeholders in order to:

• Consider how well we are meeting the needs of local people with learning disabilities and their carers;
• Set out the priorities for improvement and development, in order that the Health and Social Care Partnership can ensure the provision of high quality, effective, sustainable services in the future.

An Implementation Plan was developed as a consequence of the strategy, based on the 6 Improvement Themes that emerged from the review of the national and local context and from the views of stakeholders, as set out in the strategy document:

Our 6 improvement themes below went to consultation in 2019.

Improvement Themes

1. To improve the planning for young people with learning disabilities transitioning from childhood to adulthood, with early involvement of parents, carers and the young people themselves;

2. To review and redesign accommodation-based and day support services (including employability), to modernise them, provide them locally wherever possible, make them fit for purpose and of high quality for the people who need them and ensure they are sustainable for the future;

3. To work in partnership to ensure that specialist NHS services for people with learning disabilities are improved and developed in line with the Health Board’s improvement programmes “A Strategy for the Future” and "Designing an Effective Assessment and Treatment Model”;

4. To continue to embed the principles of personalisation and Self-Directed Support, to encourage choice and independence within a framework that ensures fairness and consistency;

5. To continue to follow the principles and recommendations set out in “Keys to Life”, to ensure that the best possible outcomes are being met for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, within the resources available.

6. To ensure that our resource allocation processes are fair and consistent, and that we maximise efficiencies to secure Best Value for the people we support and the wider community.

A set of redesign principles were developed in response to the improvement themes

Redesign Principles Day Services

• Providing a wider range of day services in the local area, in line with the principles of the national Learning Disability Strategy Keys to Life;
• Placing in-house HSCP services at the heart of local provision with a strong third, independent and voluntary sector presence, together providing complementary and sustainable services;
• Replacing the current service delivered from Kelvinbank Resource Centre and moving to a new, modern location.  The new service would provide a wider range of support than at present, including those for people with more complex and profound disabilities, supported by skilled staff; 
• Delivering the new in-house service from a single main location, supplemented by shared spaces across the localities.  We would favour the integration of the main service within a shared community resource rather than a standalone building, reflecting national strategies and examples of good practice;
• Delivering both centre-based and community-based services to meet individual needs and outcomes.  People with mild and the lower end of moderate learning disabilities would be supported within community settings, as far as possible.
• Commissioning a wider range of informal community assets, social enterprise developments, supported and substantive employment opportunities and volunteering services.  This would be an area of significant growth and improvement, in partnership with local organisations;
• Provision of choice and self-determination through Self-Directed Support, informed by fair and equitable mechanisms for determining personal budgets.

Redesign Principles Accommodation-based Support Services

• In-house, third and independent sectors working together to provide complementary and sustainable services;
• Service development and commissioning to optimise core and cluster approaches;
• To work with providers to ensure existing provision reflects these redesign principles;
• To develop extra-care core and cluster tenancies;
• In-house provision to focus on providing services for people with:
  • Severe learning disabilities;
  • Profound and complex learning disabilities;
  • Highly complex learning disabilities and severe challenging behaviour.

The Opening of the New Allander Day Services March 2023

The HSCP's approved East Dunbartonshire Adult Learning Disability Strategy 2018-23 committed to developing redesigned day services for people with learning disabilities in East Dunbartonshire - reprovisioning the current service delivered at Kelvinbank Resource Centre, Kirkintilloch. The redesign is now nearing completion. The new support service will be located within the Allander Leisure Centre in Bearsden, as part of a £42.5 million investment by East Dunbartonshire Council. The new support centre will open on 9 March 2023.

The facility will include:

• Flexible meeting rooms, quiet spaces and office
• Dementia, rebound, sensory and physiotherapy treatment rooms
• Arts & crafts, dance and music rooms
• Changing rooms
• Kitchen facilities.

The Council is working closely with partners including East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust and East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership.

Newsletters

If you would like a copy of any monthly newsletters from March 2022 to April 2023, please contact Gayle Paterson at gayle.paterson@eastdunbarton.gov.uk