74 per cent of the nurses surveyed said that they had witnessed cuts to services in the past year and almost all of them said that they were concerned for the safety of patents as a result.
The nurses also highlighted inconsistent levels of care across the country, with vital measures, such as making sure that vulnerable people have their care tailored to their needs, not being met in the same way across the country.
The survey estimates that the number of learning disability specialist nurses in the NHS has fallen by half since 1995 to around 6,000, some of which is the result of staff leaving for the independent sector but more recently because large numbers of experienced nurses are retiring early as budgets are being slashed.
General secretary of the RCN, Dr Peter Carter said: "The NHS has a duty to treat everyone as equals and provide the care we all require. However, when it comes to people with learning disabilities, today's survey clearly shows that this is just not happening.
"With increasing caseloads and complexity of care, alongside decreasing staffing levels, it is hardly surprising that nurses are voicing concerns about the safety and welfare of their patients. Our worry now is that in this tough economic climate, the NHS could end up forgetting people with learning disabilities."
And Dan Scorer, Mencap’s senior campaigns and policy manager said: “We are extremely concerned to see this evidence from the front line of the negative impact that cuts to services are having on patients with a learning disability.”
For more information, please visit www.choicecaregroup.com
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( 0 / 0 )This week, Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister John Hayes launched the College Inclusion Charter, which aims to get colleges of further education to commit to delivering quality education opportunities to learners with autism and other learning disabilities, at the Pears Ambitious About Autism Annual Lecture 2012.
Mr Hayes said:"... the College Inclusion Charter ... will be a valuable tool in ensuring that learning is targeted to individual need. It is vital that we talk to people with autism as well as their families because they’re the very people who know their potential and barriers. It is my wholehearted view that our system must be responsive, particular and tailored.”
Mark Atkinson, Director of Communications, Policy and Research at Ambitious about Autism, said: “We are delighted Further Education Minister John Hayes MP has launched the College Inclusion Charter as part of our ongoing Finished at School campaign. We hope all colleges will sign up to the Charter to demonstrate their commitment to improving opportunities for learners with autism and other disabilities.”
Finished at school is a national campaign run by Ambitious about Autism, which aims to secure more and better educational options for all young people with autism aged between 16 and 25.
Mr Atkinson went on to say: “Now the Government has committed to producing plans to create a clear legal right to educational support up to the age of 25 for young disabled people, we believe the life chances of tens of thousands of young people with autism, who are currently denied access to any educational opportunities beyond school, will be revolutionised.”
Also speaking at the Lecture was Dr Alexa Posny, US Assistant Secretary for Special Educational and Rehabilitative Services. She discussed the United States’ aim to challenge all students, including those with disabilities, within the general curriculum.
For more information, please visit www.choicecaregroup.com
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( 2.8 / 9 )Tickets are now on sale for We Dance, a festival of dance taking place on 13 and 14 July, which is part of Dancing for the Games, featuring people with a learning disability. Dancing for the Games is aimed at getting people in the West Midlands dancing to celebrate London 2012 and will involve people with a learning disability in the Cultural Olympiad.
We Dance is a grassroots learning disability dance project, presenting community dance groups and acclaimed national companies, running dance workshops for people with learning disabilities and training dance leaders to work with people with a learning disability.
Led by Mencap and in partnership with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Freefall Dance Company, mac Birmingham, Fox Hollies School and Performing Arts College and Midland Mencap, the project will culminate in a two-day festival at mac, featuring performances, workshops, an exhibition and information stands.
Visitors to the festival will be able to watch performances of contemporary and south Indian dancing and dance-themed exhibitions, as well as getting involved in bhangra, ballroom and line dancing workshops.
Lee Fisher, Head of Creative Learning and former Soloist with Birmingham Royal Ballet, is also Artistic Director of Freefall Dance Company, which provides a training and performing platform for highly gifted young people of school leaving age with severe learning disabilities, and said of the project:
“We are incredibly excited about this ambitious London 2012 inspired-project. The films, live performances, workshops and exhibitions are a fantastic opportunity for hundreds of people with a learning disability to share their passion for dance and help build the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
A group of young filmmakers with a learning disability will also produce two Dance for Camera short films that will be screened at BBC Big Screen sites throughout the UK.
For more information, please visit www.choicecaregroup.com
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( 3 / 10 )A number of Bills were outlined in the Queen’s speech this week, including the Children and Families Bill, which proposes measures to improve provision for disabled children and children with special educational needs, and give families more choice and control over their support.
There is also a draft bill relating to social care, which aims to modernise care and support in England. The draft talked of a commitment to quality and the personalisation of support but did not mention the funding of the care system, which has caused concern in the care community.
Dan Scorer, senior campaigns and policy manager at Mencap said: “The commitment to a draft bill and pre-legislative scrutiny is at least a start, but we had hoped for much more – specifically a renewed commitment to address the funding crisis in adult social care.
“We now have serious concerns about the government’s desire to address the crisis in social care and move beyond the limited remit of the draft bill. People with a learning disability and their families are increasingly unable to live full and independent lives, and ministers need to tell us when and how they will address the funding issues that are only intensifying as each month passes without progress.”
And Labour said that care was “too urgent to kick into the long grass. There is nothing to stop the Government…. committing to legislation in this session of Parliament, legislation which includes funding reform as well as wider policy and legal reform.”
In an open letter to the Daily Mail this week a group of campaigners including charities, nursing and care home operators and council leaders criticised the government for failing to tackle the “urgent” task to prevent people being left “living in misery and fear”.
For more information, please visit www.choicecaregroup.com
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( 3 / 5 )A film called Mission to Lars which chronicles the adventure of a 40-year-old man with Fragile X syndrome, will have its charity premiere at Notting Hill’s Gate Cinema in aid of Mencap next week.
With the strap line everyone deserves one adventure in their life, the synopsis on the film’s website describes it like this:
“Lars Ulrich is a heavy metal God with his own jumbo jet. Tom Spicer lives in a care home in Devon and has Fragile X Syndrome. Tom has a dream, to meet his hero, to meet Lars. His siblings promise to make it happen, with hopes of good times and bonding. But what starts out a dream soon becomes a nightmare, as Tom’s disabilities, a dysfunctional family, and heavy metal’s labyrinthine backstage world thwart the mission at every turn. But as they get closer to Lars, Tom the man starts to shine.”
The film has been made to raise awareness of Fragile X, which is a relatively unknown condition. Caused by an abnormal site on the X chromosome, symptoms of the condition include social, language and emotional problems and autism-like behaviour.
It is estimated that fragile X affects one in 4,000 boys and one in 8,000 girls, but the figure could be much higher due to lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis, as it is often confused with autism.
Explaining that the film portrays Tom as a brother, son and man first and a person with a learning disability second, Mark Goldring, Mencap's chief executive, says: "The film highlights that Tom is not just a person with a learning disability. He is a complex, likeable person with dreams and aspirations, and plenty of challenges, just like any of us."
Mission to Lars was made by Tom's sister ,Kate, a journalist and his brother, Will, who is a filmmaker. Funded by donations and a Wellcome Trust grant, it will be shown nationwide through Picturehouse cinemas from June.
For more information, please visit www.choicecaregroup.com
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