The #LBBill blog via #WeLDNs and #JusticeforLB

Team @WeLDNurses have held chats with the #JusticeforLB team before, but this one felt different. It was not about what has gone wrong in the past, but more about how we can change the future. And we need to change.

A comment towards the end of the chat resonated with me, the “main lesson is that there is so much to be done”

The #LBBill wants to change policy, statute, the Mental Health Act, and to achieve this will be a long and at times difficult path. But if it improves the lives of people with learning disabilities we all have to get on board, and travel this journey together.

It was reassuring that a number of twitter chatters have read, and joined the 800 + signatures on the #LBBill pledge. There was a consensus the bill is a good thing, but there are definitions needed to add clarity to it.

What is ‘home’ in the context of the bill, and what is classed as ‘residential’ services needs defining in order to be clear about the remit of the bill and to support the clinical commissioning groups (CCG’s) when sourcing potential services.

One of the elements the bill supports is the commissioning of local services, and we were fortunate to be joined by family carers who cite that having their child living away from home causes anxiety, and when that child is an hour’s drive away, this anxiety increases. We know family carers want their offspring close to where they live, we have known this for years, and we need to start making this a reality.

We also know that standards of care can vary from place to place, trust to trust, home to home, and even shift to shift; so how can we as professionals improve the quality and consistency of care delivery?

How many people with learning disabilities have chosen where to live and who to live with? How many have not?

How can we make inclusion into local communities a reality for people with learning disabilities? We think the bill would support this, through a legal framework.

An important question was ‘does anyone think autism/learning disability where no mental illness should stay within the Mental Health Act?’ We would be interested to hear more feedback about people’s views on this. I have long thought that people with learning disabilities should have their own Act, written with people with learning disabilities, for people with learning disabilities. It was muted that there is less protection for people with learning disabilities under the MCA, we would like to hear more about your views on this.

Many #WeLDNs chats have discussed the need for ‘robust advocacy’ services, and tonight was no exception, but how can we increase the amount and availability of advocates? I know several advocacy services that have to re-tender for contracts every year, so I’m thinking we need robust commissioning to really commit to the development of advocacy services for people with learning disabilities.

The #LBBill is ambitious; seeking to change two Acts, and create another is a massive undertaking in itself. But the complexities around housing associations, health and social care funding streams, sourcing, brokering and delivering quality packages of care, commissioning and advocacy mean there is a real challenge here.

So can we rise to this challenge? Can we use our collective voice to make a change? Do we need a national action plan to support the #LBBill in its development?

Let’s hope we can, because together we are better, stronger and more resilient.

Team @WeLDNurses are @DMarsden49 @samabdulla @salsa442

Many thanks to @JusticeforLB