The North of EnglandHealth and Learning Disability

Network.Wednesday November 14 2012

Mick O’ Gorman Chair of the SPARC charity

A warm Welcome to Widnes.

Firstly.... The Housekeeping.• Mobile Telephones: you know the score.• Fire Regs: to your right, on your toes & out the door. • Fags: strictly off premises please: ie.car parks + front area• Food: its free but please note your table Number: its 1 or 2• Car Parking: 0.80 pence per car : please use honesty jar.• Name tags: please note your Food Table number.[1 or 2]• Please help the SPARC survey: return to Mick O’ Gorman.• Our Chair for the day: Lisa Gregg-Herrett [Choice Support]• Our main organiser is : Janet Cobb.• Our sponsors : “Choice Support” and the “SPARC” charity.• And thank you for coming: please enjoy.

How to improve the healthcare of people with Learning Disabilities?

• Dr. Lucien Engelen: Director of the Radboud Health Innovation Centre, Netherlands.

• How building Social Networks and Re-Skilling people improves health care services.

• “The most valuable but under-used resource in healthcare are the patients themselves”.

• People as Producers & not simply Consumers of services: a creative relationship.

“Re-Skilling” or “De-Skilling” people with Learning Disabilities[LD]?

• Q: Can you realistically achieve social inclusion and good health if you cannot tie your shoe lace, or boil a kettle, cross a road to go to the local shop or catch a bus into town?

• SPARC is interested in Re-Skilling our members in the skills of “Social Resilience” including Health Skills.

• We believe that achieving good health care for people with LD is achieved by engaging people as Designers & Producers of services.

The Tyranny of Consensus and the need for Change in culture.

• Changing a passive health culture to embrace change.• “Silence is NOT compliance “!• For example: today we will explore how it is possible to make

adjustments for people with Learning Disabilities to improve access healthcare.

• There is the relatively “easy” stuff: like increasing annual GP health checks , Easy Read materials for non-readers, longer appointments by GP surgeries, etc.

• And then the much harder work: changing a health culture and genuinely engaging families to encourage their ideas and experiences.

• The opportunity for change with the new CCG’s ?• Communication: Learning to listen to ordinary people.• A challenge......i.e.. repeat please: "Silk, Silk, Silk” x 3 .

Our speakers today

• Sue Turner: The Improving Health and Lives Project Lead.

• Dr.Fiona Richards: Good primary health care for people with Learning Disabilities.

• Simon Banks: The role of the new Halton Clinical Commissioning Group[ CCG]

• Allyson Kent: Role of acute hospitals• Dr.Ben Thomas: Role of Learning Disability Nursing• Steven Rose: Individual Service Funds in action

And YOUR role today....IDEAS.• We are asking today for your Best ideas please.• We have some excellent speakers.• BUT we also have YOU, our delegates. • A very valuable human resource !!• Under your bottom is your task for today .• In March 2013, SPARC shall undertake a full

structured survey of our 240 members.• And In April 2013 we shall then inform our local

CCG of the results of this survey.

Thank You

And enjoy the rest of the day.