Guest Blog (GRAB)

“Guest Reflective Additional Blog”

The Guest Reflective Additional Blog was established to offer all members an opportunity to have their say about their role, their organisation, society etc. aligned to the purpose of KSS LDCoP.

Guidelines for blog writing

  • The written piece should be no more than 1000 words long.
  • The Guest Reflective Blog will be submitted on the appropriate form (Click here to download)
  • and will be reviewed by two named KSS LDCoP Steering Group members.

January 2024 – My Heart Breaks – Professor Sheila Baroness Hollins

Hospitals are where we go when we are sick, they are places to ‘fix’ things that have gone wrong; to live healthy lives it is important that our home lives are healthy and that we are taking care of our mental health too.

In November 2023 my report on the use of long-term segregation in mental health settings was published. It’s called My Heart Breaks: Solitary confinement in hospitals has no therapeutic benefit for people with a learning disability or autism. The Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Review (IC(E)TR programme reviewed the care of 191 people who were detained in long-term segregation during a four-year inquiry. At the time of publication, 48 of the 114 people reviewed in the second phase had moved out of long-term segregation, but only 7 had been discharged from hospital. We found a lack of urgency in addressing the many issues we identified, and the panel recommended a stronger focus on prevention. Preventative support needs to be personalised for each person and their families.

Click here to read the full blog

December 2023 – ‘You CAN do it!’ – Let’s talk about end-of-life care and funeral planning! A guest post by The Victoria and Stuart Project

Preparing well for death is one of the most important things we can get right for the people we support and care for. As one of our advisors pointed out it is only irrelevant for people who are immortal!

Helping people who are facing serious illness to talk about and think through plans for what we want whilst we’re still alive is also vital.

We know it’s not easy for any of us to think & talk about being very ill, death and dying.

But that is what the Victoria and Stuart Project www.victoriaandstuart.com led by Professor Irene Tuffrey-Wijne at Kingston University has been doing for the last couple of years.

Click here to read the full blog

November 2023 – Oliver McGowan Training, A Midwife & Mothers perspective.

My name is Hayley Coffey I am a Midwife and Lecturer at Canterbury Christchurch University, I am currently studying a Masters in Psychology, I have a special interest in neurodiversity, particularly Autism and ADHD. I undertook the Oliver McGowan training and was inspired to write a reflection on my thoughts. I think the training is vital for all healthcare staff, being a parent of children with additional needs I also have some insight into the complexities of accessing care and communicating with healthcare professionals, but also I understand the challenges of the work environment so felt I had a unique perspective to share.

Click here to read the full blog.

April 2018 – Going for GOLD in Thanet

Suzanne Derham, Sue Bates and Jane Brooke work for East Kent Mencap, a local charity which provides opportunity for adults and children with a learning disability in East Kent. Since January 2016 they have been delivering a Lottery funded project, GOLD (Getting on with Learning Disabilities) which provides free support and information for people with learning difficulties in Thanet who are socially isolated. The project particularly targets people who are not eligible for statutory or commissioned support, and is loosely based on the social prescribing model.

Click here to read the full blog

May 2017 – My Healthcare Passport Participatory Action Research project overview

East Kent Hospitals acknowledged the significant health inequalities that adults with learning disabilities experience in hospital; a Healthcare Passport was identified as a person centred and patient owned tool that contained pertinent personalised information enabling health care professionals to make adjustments for someone less able to communicate their needs and wishes. Led by East Kent Hospitals, a multi stakeholder group co-created a tool over a twelve month period and was awarded charitable funds to have the tool professionally designed and launched.

Click here to read the full blog

16th Jan 2017 – Life Stories in East Kent

More than 20 people with learning disabilities and their supporters came to learn about recording their life stories at Canterbury Christ Church Uni’s Broadstairs Campus on a wonderfully sunny day in March. The workshop was led by Jan Walmsley and Sue Ledger, members of the Open University’s Social History of Learning Disabilities Research Group

Click here to read Jan’s full blog

04th of Jan 2017 – Domestic violence and women with learning disabilities

In this research project we wanted to hear directly from women with learning disabilities themselves about the domestic violence they had experienced. (We also explored the views, attitudes and responses of the Police and health and social care professionals and these will be reported elsewhere).

Click here to read Michelle’s full blog

21st of Apr 2016 – Get Staff in the Door!

There is the risk of 40% of qualified staff retiring within the next 10 years. The predicted rise of the general population by 4% including the number of people with Intellectual Disabilities

How can you succeed in delivering high quality care and face these challenges head on?  Would you like to know more?   Take a read at Heike Guilford’s blog and suggestions.

(ID HEEKSS coaching program blog article click here to read on)