Contextual Considerations

Journey times for public transport, car and taxi were all calculated using Google directions. These timings were ‘in the moment’ and did not consider any allowances for delays. The car journey did not include time that would have been spent on finding spaces to park and, if necessary, the purchasing of car park tickets. The case study considers what may happen if Jack were very late for appointments, however, does not consider that Jack may be delayed at any of the services due to the service representative not being on time. There is assumption in the calculations that someone is available to see Jack at the start of his appointment time. There is no accounting for the weather in the case study – something that often causes driving and public transport delays. The journey with the support worker was researched with a focus on timings. It is important also to consider costs. The case study involves just one support worker; it would likely be two workers who collected Jack from prison. This is common practice for several reasons including:

Staff safety procedures: no lone working in cars or with customers we are not yet familiar with

Two people enable the driver to focus on the driving and not be distracted by the customer’s conversation

As in Jack’s case, it is not uncommon for people to be released from prison with no means of contact. With two support workers one can drive, the other can be making telephone calls with Jack to the services he has appointments with and any others that may meet his immediate needs. For example, in another recent prison release case, the second support worker was able to make an initial GP appointment for the customer who had been released with no medication, although he had been prescribed and had taken medication three times daily whilst in prison. The cost of two support workers for a full day in addition to calls / driving costs is high, yet – even with this generous and valuable resource – Jack was unable to complete the plan. There was information in Jacks referral to his support worker that demonstrated that Jack had needs that may lead to behaviours in appointment settings that would mean he may be asked to leave or refused support, yet he was expected to present with six different services in one day. This type of awareness could have been acknowledged with an alternative release plan that demonstrated consideration of triggers that affect Jack’s behaviour and consideration for the services that Jack was expected to meet with. Jack’s release plan had been designed with the most optimistic of assumptions: that Jack knew where to find and how to get to each of the services; that the appointments would take place on time and be completed relatively quickly, and that if Jack is late, he will still be seen. Even then, the improbable plan turned out to be impossible.