Housing: charities call for more person-centred care

Learning disability charities have called for a move away from institutional care and towards more personalised services and housing after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that residential facilities often fail to provide patient-centred care (8th February 2012).

The CQC has now released 40 of its 150 inspection reports and, through brief analysis, said that many facilities do not provide care based on the individual needs of people using the services.

In response, in a joint statement, Mencap and The Challenging Behaviour Foundation called for more local services to be developed: “It is extremely worryingthat 16 out of the latest 20 CQC reports of units inspected are not fully compliant with essential quality and safety standards, and that 13 of the locations were non-compliant on safeguarding, leaving people with a learning disability at risk of abuse.”

These post-Winterbourne reviews are providing a strong justification for moving away from institutional care towards developing local services for local people. It is crucial the Government ensures these changes are made to reduce the likelihood of the abuses seen at Winterbourne View happening again.”

Person-centred care and housing

Meanwhile, Molly Mattingly, head of learning disability programmes at the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, called for more person-centred planning: “It is disappointing that after so many years talking about personalisation and the need for person-centred planning, it is still not embedded in care services. As usual, there is a gulf between the rhetoric and policy and actual care delivery practice on the ground.

“Person-centred planning is key to ensuring that every individual with learning disabilities is being supported and treated properly. Just because people have learning disabilities does not mean that they are not capable of being involved in decisions that affect their lives.

“Families and those who know and care about people with learning disabilities are also important, but too often can be seen as “outsiders”. This is not helpful, and maintaining relationships with family and friends should be a requirement in those care services.

“Having choice and control allows for a better quality of life, as well as delivering clear psychological benefits of empowering individuals to be directly involved in their care decisions – decisions not taken for them but with them.

“However, if we are to see a real change and significant improvement in the delivery of effective care services and their associated benefits, it is essential that we see both a stronger requirement on organisations and services to deliver person-centred approaches, as well as appropriate training and support for health and social care staff.”

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