Easy Read
LDAG News
Winter 2013/2014
30 Years and Counting On 14 October 2013 there was an event to celebrate 30 years of the All Wales Strategy. The All Wales Strategy was written by the Welsh Office in 1983. The aim of the All Wales Strategy was to allow people with a learning disability to live normal lives in their communities. It said that people with a learning disability should:
have choices
be treated as individuals
get help and support to live in the community.
The All Wales Strategy helped people with a learning disability to start moving out of big hospitals like Hensol and Ely. (More on page 2)
Easy Read newsletter
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 1)
People started living in the community with support for the first time in Wales. The Learning Disability Advisory Group (LDAG), Mencap Cymru and All Wales People First all helped to pay for the event.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story
Learning Disability Wales and All Wales Forum of Parents and Carers helped to plan the event.
here.�
People with a learning disability, families and people who work with people with a learning disability all came along to the event. Roger Banks and Sophie Hinksman chaired the day together. Roger
Sophie
The Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas talked about some of the changes in Wales over the last 30 years for people with a learning disability. Gwenda Thomas
She also talked about the future and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill.
(More on page 3)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 2)
This is a new Welsh law about how people get help and support to live their lives. Cardiff People First talked about their project on what it was like to live in Ely hospital. Pauline Young talked about being a parent to a son with a learning disability. People at the event had the chance to tell their own stories about living in Wales over the last 30 years. “To catch the reader's attention, place an
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
Everyone also had chance to talk in small groups about different parts of community life like:
jobs
transition
hate crime.
People talked about their own lives and some of the problems they face. They also talked about how to make things better. (More on page 4)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 3)
Each group wrote down what people thought. These notes will be put into a report for the LDAG to look at and think about what they need to do. In the evening there was a meal and a disco. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
Jane Hutt AM for the Vale and Minister for Finance talked about the Nimrod project. The Nimrod project started in 1981 with services working together in the community. Jane Hutt By 1986 the Nimrod project was supporting 150 people with a learning disability in Wales to live in the community. The All Wales Strategy was written in 1983 because of the work that the Nimrod project had started.
(More on page 5)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 4)
Jane Hutt is a trustee for Vale People First. She talked about how much People First in Wales has grown over the last 30 years. Jane also said that the Independent Living Framework is as important as the Social Services and Well-being Bill. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
Now?
30 years?
The event was a chance to look back at the last 30 years. It was also a chance to think about where we are now and where we want to be in 30 years’ time.
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LDAG News Easy Read
Easy Read Health Wales The Easy Read Health Wales website helps people with a learning disability and their families to find accessible information about health and well-being. The website has lots of Easy Read information about things like having a blood test or how to make sure you do not get constipated. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
The website is in English and Welsh. There are videos to help people understand the words on the main pages of the website. If you need help to find or understand information on the website you can phone the helpline on 0808 808 1111. Easy Read Health Wales is paid for by Welsh Government. The website was made as part of a project about accessible information.
(More on page 7)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 6)
Learning Disability Wales, All Wales Forum of Parents and Carers, Mencap Cymru and All Wales People First worked together on the project. The project ended on 31 March 2013. Welsh Government is paying some money so that Samantha Williams can keep the website up to date and make sure people know about it. “To catch the reader's attention, place an
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
Samantha Williams is the Information Officer for the LDAG. Samantha Williams
People with a learning disability often have worse health than other people. Health services do not always make changes to help people with a learning disability get good healthcare. One way that people with a learning disability can stay healthy is to have good quality information that they can understand. (More on page 8)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 7)
A small group of people from the LDAG are looking at why people with a learning disability have worse health than others and how to make it better. The group will tell the LDAG what they find out.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
You can have a look at the Easy Read Health Wales website here: www.easyreadhealthwales.org.uk. Please tell Samantha Williams what you think of the website.
Samantha Williams
You can also speak to Samantha if you have any Easy Read information about health to add to the website or you would like some posters and cards to tell other people about the website. You can phone Samantha on 029 20681177 or send her an email samantha.williams@ldw.org.uk.
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Winter 2013/2014
Project in North Wales hospitals Dr Delia Wainwright came to a LDAG meeting in June to talk about a project in North Wales hospitals. Delia is the Learning Disability Nurse Programme Manager at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The project was started because there had been some worries about the way hospital staff looked after people with a learning disability.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
The aim of the project was to give people with a learning disability better access to services in the 3 main hospitals in North Wales:
Ysbyty Gwynedd
Wrecsam Maelor
Ysbyty Glan Clywd.
Learning Disability Liaison Nurses worked on the project to support people with a learning disability and their families when they went to hospital for treatment or had to stay in hospital. (More on page 10)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 9)
They worked as Acute Liaison Nurses in each hospital. This means that they worked with lots of different people to make sure that people with a learning disability got good healthcare when they went to hospital.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
The Acute Liaison Nurses worked with staff from health and social services as well as the people going into hospital and their families or carers. They made sure people had information that was easy to understand. They gave staff training and information about supporting people with a learning disability. They visited people while they were staying in hospital until they went home.
(More on page 11)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 10)
Sometimes they visited people after they had left hospital to find out how things were going. The project found that nearly half of the people with a learning disability who went into hospital either had a Traffic Light Passport already or filled one in while they were there. The Traffic Light Passport can be filled in with help from families, carers or support staff.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
The Traffic Light Passport is not to be used instead of having a proper assessment by health staff. It is a quick and easy way for hospital staff to find important information about the patient and their needs. It can help staff understand how to communicate with the patient and the best ways to support them while they are in hospital.
(More on page 12)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 11)
These are some of the ways the project made hospital services for people with a learning disability better:
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
Staff knew more about what people with a learning disability need and they felt more confident to support them. Services in the community knew more about some of the problems that staff working in health had. Health and social services worked together better. Patients and their families or carers felt less worried about going into hospital and had better support when they were in hospital.
Here are some of the changes that the project would like to make:
Hospital care needs to be more flexible. This means sometimes doing things in a different way.
(More on page 13)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 12)
When people go to Accident and Emergency the information on the computer should tell staff that the person has a learning disability. Better information when people with a learning disability go into hospital. Each hospital should have an Acute Liaison Nurse. “To catch the reader's attention, place an
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
Acute Liaison Nurses should be involved before a person with a learning disability goes into hospital or as soon as possible after they arrive.
Information should be easy to understand.
Traffic Light Passports to be used.
Training for all hospital staff.
Staff should work together with families and carers.
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LDAG News Easy Read
A Director with a learning disability Joe Powell is the Director of All Wales People First and a member of the LDAG. He has been talking about how he became the first Director with a learning disability.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
When All Wales People First decided to try to find someone with a learning disability to be the new Director, lots of people got very excited. But some people said that it would never work because they did not know anybody with a learning disability who could do that job. The All Wales People First National Council were sure that someone with a learning disability could do the job. Joe Powell said that nobody really knew what would happen, not even him. Joe said that we must be careful not to try to do things just because we think we should.
(More on page 15)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 14)
It might sound good to have a person with a learning disability as the Director of every organisation that works with people with a learning disability. But it would not be good to give people jobs that they were never going to be able to do properly. He said that All Wales People First had thought a lot about this before they decided to give a person with a learning disability the job of Director. “To catch the reader's attention, place an
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
Joe had never been a Director before and he had a lot to learn. He worked with the other members of staff at All Wales People First: John Pearse and Yvonne Boxall. John and Yvonne
When Joe first started his job as Director he was worried that some people would be unhappy because he was not from one of the People First groups.
(More on page 16)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 15)
But everyone was very kind and helped Joe get used to his new job. Joe said that he nearly did not send in his application for the job. This was not because he thought that someone with a learning disability could not do the job. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
It was because he had a bad time in another job when he was young and this made him think that he could never have a proper job. Richard Mills from Research Autism and National Autistic Society told Joe that he thought he could definitely do the job of Director. But he said that Joe would need the right support to do the job properly. He said that any Director would need support, not just someone with a disability. All Wales People First already had a clear plan for how to find and support the new Director. (More on page 17)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 16)
Members of Caerphilly People First looked at all the applications for the job and decided which people to interview. The plan was for the new Director to work for 2 days a week for 9 months with the support of Yvonne Boxall as a trial. Yvonne Boxall
If the trial went well then the new Director would start working 3 days a week with the support of a Personal Assistant.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
John Pearse
The Director would share the management of the organisation with the Business Manager John Pearse. Yvonne Boxall would become the National Council worker. But this plan changed. Joe did not need a Personal Assistant. He did not need the full 9 months trial.
6
He was ready to start working 3 days a week after just 6 months. (More on page 18)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 17)
Joe and John also felt that it was important to keep Yvonne as part of the management team as she has worked for All Wales People First for such a long time.
Yvonne Boxall
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
They asked Yvonne to join them as an equal member of the management team and she said yes. Joe has learnt a lot from Yvonne since he started and is very glad that she said yes. The People First groups were also very glad to hear that Yvonne was joining the new management team. Joe knows he still has a lot to learn and that this will take time. He has loved every minute as Director of All Wales People First. He loves meeting People First members and staff. He is proud to work for an organisation that he believes in. (More on page 19)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 18)
He likes being able to tell people what People First members think. Joe’s own story has helped him to explain why services need to change to make life better for people with a learning disability. Joe had some very bad experiences in care when he was young. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story
He says it is wrong that some people with a learning disability are still being treated badly today. here.�
He is proud to be working with the LDAG to make life better for people with a learning disability and their families in Wales.
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LDAG News Easy Read
Information about people with a learning disability living in Wales In 2009 the Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas asked the Data Unit Wales to put together lots of information about people with a learning disability in Wales. Gwenda Thomas
“To catch the reader's attention, place an
This was because the old advisory group had told her that this information was needed to help services plan for the future.
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.�
This information was called the Learning Disabilities Minimum Data Set. Welsh Government paid for the information to be put together by the Data Unit Wales. The information came from the local authorities in Wales. The information was on the InfoBaseCymru website. You could look at the information in different ways. For example, maps and tables.
(More on page 21)
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Winter 2013/2014 (From page 20)
There was information about:
where people with a learning disability live
what services they get
how much money social services spend on services for people with a learning disability children and young people with a learning disability. “To catch the reader's attention, place an
interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
The money from Welsh Government for putting together the information ran out some time ago. Data Unit Wales decided not to put together the information for 2012 to 2013 and took it off the website. Samantha Williams LDAG Information Officer had a meeting with people who work at Data Unit Wales to talk about the information.
Samantha Williams
She told them how important it was and why she thought they should put it back on the website. (More on page 22)
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LDAG News Easy Read (From page 21)
She has told people before about the website when they have been looking for information about people with a learning disability living in Wales. But most people did not know about the information on the website. She said that if more people knew about the information on the website then more people would have a look at it. Data Unit Wales said they would put the information for 2011 to 2012 back on the website so that people can have a look and decide if they think it is useful. Samantha Williams will talk to the members of the LDAG about this and let Data Unit Wales know what they think. You can have a look at the information here: http://www.infobasecymru.net/IAS/themes/ learningdisabilities(adults)minimumdataset.
(More on page 23)
Winter 2013/2014
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(From page 22)
?
Please let Samantha know what information you find useful and if you think it would be better to show the information in a different way. For example, a report instead of tables and maps. You can phone Samantha on 029 20681177 or send her an email samantha.williams@ldw.org.uk to let her know what you think.
For more information or to let us know what you think, phone Samantha Williams on 029 20681160 or e-mail: samantha.williams@ldw.org.uk. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @LDAdvisoryGroup