Good practice in Kirklees recognised by Department of Health
The work of a learning disability nurse in the Kirklees Youth Offending Team has been recognised in a Department of Health report as an example of high quality service for people with learning disabilities.
In 2012, the government initiated a project as part of it’s response to the report published about the Winterbourne View Hospital with the aim of improving the quality of services for people with learning disabilities and their families.
As part of the project, people working across health and social care services were asked to submit examples of practice, projects or initiatives which would be pulled together in a report to showcase how services can deliver the right model of care and better outcomes for people with learning disabilities and/ or autism. The aim of the project was to find out what ‘good looks like’ and to share this with people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and other organisations.
The project was led by a working group with representatives from the National Forum of People with learning disabilities, National Valuing Families Forum as well as the NHS and social services. Those who submitted examples of practice were asked to include details about how the work is innovative, was developed, the learning generated from it, and details about how people with learning disabilities, carers or advocates were involved in the work. The examples also had to highlight how they demonstrated one of the following five indicators:
• Co-production – involving people who use services in designing and planning them
• Community building – moving towards community based support
• Capabilities approach to disability – looking at people’s strengths and promoting what they can do
• Integrated services – covering health, care, housing and leisure
• Personalisation – as a foundation on which other strategies build
Karina Hepworth, a senior specialist learning disability practitioner in the Kirklees Youth Offending Team (YOT), an integrated service with the Trust and Kirklees council, submitted an example of good practice which has now been shortlisted as one of the top 20 in the country.
Karina explained, “I submitted the work of the learning disability nurse in the YOT as an example of a high quality service for people with learning disabilities. The role of the nurse is to support young people age 10-18 who are in touch with the YOT, to identify their needs and access services and supports other colleagues to ensure that orders made by the court reflect the needs of the individual and can be adhered to by them.
“We were really pleased to hear that the working group selected our example of good practice to be amongst the top 20 nationally. Those shortlisted will now be included in a final report to highlight excellent services, share learning amongst colleagues working in health and social care services, and offer an insight into how others could provide high quality services for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers.”
For more information about the good practice that Karina submitted, contact her at Karina.Hepworth@kirklees.gov.uk
