From the Hampshire LD Partnership Board meeting on:
Wednesday 8th November 2017
Wells Place centre, Wells Place, Eastleigh
Chaired by Councillor Liz Fairhurst and Marcia Lawman
People who were there:
Parry
Apologies
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The minutes were agreed.
Shared lives presentation – Claire Hudson
http://documents.hants.gov.uk/adultservices/publications/SharedLivescarersdlFeb2015.pdf
Some of the group have met Claire though some of the LIGs.
Claire said that there are a lot of changes happening.
· Carers are now formally supervised.
· There is a carers working group which can make changes.
· Friendship groups have been set up and can people meet up.
· On the 28th November, 2 residents went to Downing Street, to promote Shared lives. There was the press too.
· A promotional film for shared lives has been made.
http://hantsweb-staging.hants.gov.uk/sharedlives
· Changes in the team mean that a duty system is in place where carers can phone and speak to a specific person in the team.
· A new Referral manager has been appointed so that service users and carers can be matched.
Recruitment of carers:
It is not easy to become a carer.
· There are 8 days of compulsory training before the process even starts.
· You are on a probationary period.
· There are two panels that check everything.
· 16 new carers were recruited since last year.
· 8 applicants are currently going through process.
· By the end of this financial year, 24 people will have been recruited.
The idea is to double the size of the scheme. The scheme refused 7 applicants this year who did not meet criteria.
One parent said that unless you are a carer, you don’t understand respite. You have to build a really good relationship and it takes time. no respite or bad respite can affect deeply the family. There is not enough advertising for the scheme.
Claire said that some advertising has been done mainly north of the county, at the New Forest show and there were also some radio interviews.
There is a web and Facebook page. There has been a lot of interest on Facebook but it is not always the right people who come forward.
Debbie said that she has used shared lives in the past. Henry enjoys Shared Lives too.
Housing report from LIG reps
Here is a short report from all the Hampshire advocacy groups.
http://www.hampshirelearningdisabilitypartnershipboard.org.uk/uploads/attachment/1232/housing-report-from-lig-reps-8112017.pdf
Jenny said that she is working on a housing project in Hampshire. It will not help everyone who needs a home but it is a start.
· Last year 44 new homes were created for people to move in (shared houses and blocks of flats)
· 4 new projects will be created before Christmas (flats in Bordon and Winchester, a new house in Havant for 5 people and a couple bungalows in Basingstoke).
· Next year, 46 flats and 2 shared houses will be available for people with high needs.
We know people can wait a very long time for a home but the first thing you need to do is to get yourself on the housing waiting list. The council has a list of people with priority needs.
For some parts of Hampshire, you can use Choice Based lettings for East Hants, Havant, Eastleigh Winchester and
Romsey. Farnborough, Fareham, the New Forest and other part of the county have another process.
If you need a house with support (and you are eligible), your social worker will need to make an assessment of your needs, agree a budget and refer you to the Panel (SAAG). There is a list of supported houses in Hampshire and the team will try and match your needs as best as they can. We know that there are not enough houses available for people who need it. It is never going to be easy because of the cost of the land but we all have to make compromises in life and taking the best offer can be a stepping stone.
The system involves big lists of people. An IT system is likely to be used in the future to make it easier. The group has asked for it is to be easy to understand.
One parent asked for numbers of people coming through the system.
Jess replied that a more strategic view of £36 million has been agreed we can spend it on housing for people with higher needs. Supporting living is good but can be slow because it is personalised. It is also hard to plan like you do for school places.
One parent said that there is more development in the north of the county than in the south.
Jenny replied that the new built was in the North because the land was available at that time (phase 1).
Phase 2 is in the South of the county (New Forest).
One carer rep said that the tenancy agreement should be in accessible format for people to understand. Jenny is working on this.
One service user rep asked what was the building in Bordon on its own. Jenny said that it was Omega, a residential care provider.
One rep said that she lives with my husband in Romsey in a ground floor flat. She is supported by Mencap and she is adopting a cat. There was a special form to fill in to adopt the cat.
One carer asked how many people were on the waiting list for houses across Hampshire?. Jenny did not know because the district council would have the list. Jenny has a list for her panel but not the district council list. Stuart reminded people
that the houses that we are building are for people with high support needs (who need 24/7 support)
Sally asked if the process could be simplified for someone living in a flat/house via parents (landlord). Jenny says using
a third party landlord is generally easier.
Learning Disability England or Mencap might be able to give more information.
http://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/
You can also have a look at this video. https://youtu.be/tWuUpsdXuz4
el
Any other business:
Henry would like to know more about Transformation 2019 so he can report at work. Jess will ask someone to come and talk to his workplace.
Jess said that we need to make more savings in 2018. In LD and Mental Health, 10% of savings are to be made again for 2018. Jess said that social workers will come and reassess people. Please get in touch with Jess if you need her to come
to your day service. Email is
Helen mentioned the initiative “disability confident” from the government. Conference at Audleys Wood in May about employment. Helen will forward details.
Richard says we need £500 to keep the Green LIG going (travel expenses and meeting room). Councillor Fairhurst said to get our councillors on board.
Richard talked about “The right to work” Christmas Fayre at Hewitts Café (South Street) in Emsworth. They have made about 30 Christmas cakes which will be sold on 18 and 19th November. They cook and serve meals to the over 55’s. They also make cakes and pickles. There is also an art group which will be selling Christmas cards.
Jane mentioned the Disco at the Discovery centre in Winchester. The cake stall at Santander was really good and provided valuable funds for the group.
Our plan for the next meeting is
· Update on review on the LD plan
· Transformation to 2019
End of meeting.
The next Partnership Board meeting will be at Wells Place Centre on Wednesday 24 January 2018 - 10 am to 12.30 at Wells Place centre, Wells Place, Eastleigh (sanctuary room). Only the LD Quality Group, invitees and guests should attend this meeting.
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If you would like to get involved with your Local Implementation Group (LIG) please e-mail
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