I read an interesting interview today from the Guardian1: Sheila Hollins: ‘People with learning disabilities must be put at the centre of their care’. Baroness Hollins, one of the UK’s foremost authorities on learning disability and mental health and the current President of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, chats about her inspirational son and her greatest achievement in founding a not-for-profit organisation that produces picture books to help people with communication issues. However, she goes on to discuss more somber things, such as her views on the state of support for people with learning disabilities and autism today.
People with learning disabilities and autism and the care they receive has been a prominent headline in the media recently and not for good reasons sadly. After the Winterbourne View scandal and the protective legislation that resulted, it was heartbreaking to read of another institutional abuse case at Whorlton Hall. The latest NHS-commissioned review of mortality rates2, which found that people with learning disabilities continue to experience health inequalities, was also hard to read.
Baroness Hollins believes one of the biggest challenges is the gulf between the health and social care systems, stating that we need a continuum as one is integral to the other. She also says that a lot more needs to be done to tackle the lack of parity in care. Unfortunately, it’s not just in the learning disability setting that we are seeing shortfalls; we meet health and social care professionals every day who are fighting for their clients. The difficulties seeking the financial resources needed to acquire specialist equipment is the most talked about topic at my training days!
Equality and fair access to services is something I have always been passionate about, on a professional and a personal level. To work for a company with a similar mission to really enhance individuals’ quality of life is wonderful. At CareFlex, we will do all we can to help you with your fight – I have gathered evidence over the last 10 years that demonstrates the benefits of appropriate postural management that might assist you in getting your point across when seeking funding for a CareFlex specialist seating system.
Read my blog on profound and multiple learning disabilities for a better understanding and to see how positive outcomes can be achieved. You should also check out our products and our clinical evaluations to see how CareFlex seating specifically can meet a range of seating needs.
Get in touch if you think we can help!
Bye for now,
