Key principles:

  • The right care, in the right place, at the right time
  • Good quality services that are flexible, person centred, promote choice and independence and are delivered at affordable rates

Context:

  • The number of people with Learning Disabilities will increase in coming years
  • There will be more older people (aged 65+) with learning disabilities in the future
  • There are likely to be more people with complex needs
  • There are likely to be more people with multiple needs (eg physical and learning disabilities)

What we want services to contribute to:

  • Promoting Independence
  • Delivering Better Care Closer to Home
  • Delivering positive outcomes for people to enable them to live fulfilling lives
  • Enabling people to have greater choice and control over the support they receive
  • Promoting safeguarding and providing high quality support

What service users tell us they want: (from ‘Walk in our shoes’)

  • A nice place to live that is stable, personal and makes us happy. Choice about where we live and who we live with.
  • A loving and supportive family. A break from our family when we need it. A family of our own if we choose, with a partner and/or children
  • Meaningful relationships with the people in our lives. Friends around our own age with whom we have things in common. Friends who we can meet, do things with and talk to regularly
  • A reason to get up in the morning. To feel like we make a contribution or a difference somehow to the world or others. For example we may work, study, volunteer or care for others
  • To be able to move around freely and independently. To be able to go where we want, when we want
  • To be treated well by others. To be treated equally. To be listened to and considered an important voice in the world
  • To learn new things and develop our skills. To be able to use our skills in a way that allows us to grow and achieve results. To change what we do as our interests and lives evolve
  • A sense of security that things are not just going to be taken away or change suddenly. Feeling like we are in control of what happens to us.

What families, parents and carers tell us they want: (from ‘Walk in our shoes’)

  • Reliable, timely and dependable (day and respite) services, of a reasonable quality
  • Information about what is available and how to access it
  • Advocacy and support
  • To be listened to and treated as experts in our loved one’s needs
  • Help to think about and plan for the future
  • To be involved, and to get advanced notice if there is to be change