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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.”

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120518-114349 Choice Care Group Fri, 18 May 2012 11:43:49 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120518-114349 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120516-084752
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.

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120516-084752 Choice Care Group Wed, 16 May 2012 08:47:52 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120516-084752 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120514-091938
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.



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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120514-091938 Choice Care Group Mon, 14 May 2012 09:19:38 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120514-091938 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120511-095333
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”.

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120511-095333 Choice Care Group Fri, 11 May 2012 09:53:33 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120511-095333 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120509-085741
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.

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120509-085741 Choice Care Group Wed, 09 May 2012 08:57:41 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120509-085741 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120504-083420
The research is a response to a gap between the needs of people with learning disabilities from ethnic minority communities, new migrant communities in particular, and services intake, identified by the Association for Real Change (ARC), a leading voluntary organisation supporting people with learning disabilities in England.

Following a successful bid to the Big Lottery Research programme, ARC joined forces with the University of Wolverhampton to address the needs of people with learning disabilities from new communities in the UK

They are now collecting the views of those working in the services for people with learning disabilities and are asking them to take part in a survey, which takes around ten minutes. The research questions are intended to establish:

• What are the current numbers of people from established and new migrant communities in England requiring support from learning disability services?

• How can the learning disability, voluntary sector and wider community engage with the ethnic minority communities to promote their well-being and improve their life chances?

By getting the answers to these questions, ARC will gain knowledge how to promote better ways of engaging with new migrants with learning disabilities and other ethnic minorities to help meet their future needs.

They will then produce a national set of guidelines that will aid to make the services for people with learning disabilities available and visible to members of ethnic minority communities in a bid to improve the quality of life for this population and help them grow new roots in this country.

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120504-083420 Choice Care Group Fri, 04 May 2012 08:34:20 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120504-083420 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120502-084130
Current recipients of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will be reassessed to see if they qualify and, if so, they will instead receive Personal Independence Payments, known as Pips.

However, in a detailed study in Scotland, LDAS found that the new tests could mean that one in 10 people who currently get DLA support could lose it altogether.

Researchers from the LDAS questioned people with learning disabilities across the region and applied the rules for assessing who qualifies for Pips to them. The new benefit estimates the ability of claimants to carry out nine daily activities but LDAS argues that, as most learning disabilities are lifelong, very few people’s abilities would have changed.

As co-ordinator Ian Hood said, learning-disabled people have often learned how to do something but then find it difficult to adjust if their routine is disrupted or something unexpected happens.

Mr Hood went on to say: "We started this research thinking we might find a few problems with the wording used in the questions. What we have found is shocking.

"People with learning disabilities depend on this money to help meet the costs of bills, food and getting around. Everything is more expensive because you have a disability. If the Government don't change the way they are asking the questions this could have terrible effects on people with learning disabilities."

And speaking of Scottish poet, Paul Reekie, who committed suicide leaving his notice of benefit withdrawal as his suicide note, Edinburgh GP, Dr Stephen Carty said: "I have been staggered by some of the decisions that have been reached by the DWP.”

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120502-084130 Choice Care Group Wed, 02 May 2012 08:41:30 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=05&entry=entry120502-084130 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120430-080907
The charities, Ambitious About Autism, Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation were concerned that families felt excluded from the decision-making process involving the welfare of their loved ones, so joined together with Irwin Mitchell to produce the resource.

Under the Act, all professionals, such as doctors or social workers, must consult with family members when adults lack the mental capacity to make the relevant decision themselves.

The new resource outlines the key points of the Act, and includes two template letters to help family members challenge service providers when they have not been involved, or are concerned that they won’t be involved, in the best interest decision-making process.

Alex Rook, solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, said: “If an individual lacks the mental capacity to make a decision for themselves, that decision must then be made in their best interests in accordance with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

David Congdon, head of campaigns and policy at Mencap says: “It is crucial that professionals listen to family carers and use their knowledge to inform decisions being made.”

And Vivian Cooper, Chair of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, said: “Family carers who contact our helpline often describe being excluded from decision-making. Families have a wealth of knowledge and expertise about the individual and their history as well as being a long-term source of love, care and support. These new resources will empower families to ensure they are appropriately involved in the decision-making process.”

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120430-080907 Choice Care Group Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:09:07 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=04&entry=entry120430-080907 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120427-081037
The mice, which were bred to exhibit the behaviour associated with autism, which is not the same as actually having the disorder, were given GRN-529 in experiments performed by the US National Institute of Health in America and immediately showed reduced symptoms.

Until recently, experts believed that the core symptoms of disorders such as autism and Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that shares many of the same symptoms, couldn't really be treated with medication, because the underlying abnormalities were "hardwired" into the brain during foetal development. There is no cure for the condition, which affects around I per cent of children in the UK.

And treatments that work in mice frequently fail in humans, so according to specialists, a drug to treat autism in humans is a long way off. As Uta Frith, a professor of cognitive development at University College London, said: " ... it will be a long time until these findings can be translated for human patients. Tampering with the synapse may well result in undesirable side effects.

But study co-author Robert Ring, vice president for translational research for Autism Speaks, an autism research and advocacy organisation in the US said: "These findings offer encouragement that research focused on developing medicines for core symptoms of autism are gaining momentum."

Richard Mills, the director of research at the National Autistic Society, said: "The NAS welcomes all research that improves our understanding of the neurobiology of autism. Research using animal models is important but it is not always easily translated into our understanding of autism in humans."

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120427-081037 Choice Care Group Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:10:37 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=04&entry=entry120427-081037 http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120425-100843
The museum is based in the building where Dr John Langdon set up one of the first hospitals to help people with learning difficulties in the 19th century and its objective is to contribute to the public understanding of his work.

John Langdon Down became resident physician and subsequently medical superintendent at the ‘Earlswood Asylum for Idiots’ in Redhill, Surrey He later became a lecturer at the London Hospital Medical College.

In 1868 Down established an institution for what we would now call children with learning disabilities in Teddington, having first described the condition that later became known as Down’s syndrome in 1866.

The Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability, which is owned and operated by the Down’s Syndrome Association, contributes to the public understanding of learning disability through its collections and events.

Dr Langdon Down and his family brought a revolutionary and enlightened approach to the care of those with all forms of learning disability from 1868 until 1970.

Given Rosa Monckton’s own campaigning for the ring-fencing of money for people with learning disabilities and to review how it is spent, it is fitting that the museum should sign her e-petition.

The petition needs 100,000 signatures to trigger a debate in parliament and, as of today, the total stands at 10,869. The petition closes on March 20th next year.

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]]> http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120425-100843 Choice Care Group Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:08:43 GMT http://www.choicecaregroup.com/blog/comments.php?y=12&m=04&entry=entry120425-100843