BBC Radio 4’s File in Four: Homes Not Hospitals
Some essential but disturbing listening from BBC Radio 4’s flagship investigatory programme… File on 4 Award-winning current affairs documentary series investigating major issues at home and abroad Homes Not Hospitals 13 September 2016 21:00 Five years after shocking revelations about the abuse of patients at Winterbourne View, File on 4 asks what progress has been […]
Housing LIN: collated material on ‘Supported Housing and Independent Living’
While searching for any reaction or follow-up to the CSJ’s report ‘The Need for Community’ (a study of housing for adults with learning disabilities), we stumbled across an excellent page on the Housing LIN website, entitled ‘Supported housing and independent living’ . Thanks are owed to whoever had the initiative and energy to create and […]
Death of autism campaigner Suzanne Wright
An obituary in The Independent in early August alerted us to the news of the death on 29th July 2016 of Suzanne Wright. Suzanne was the autism campaigner who, with her husband Bob, set up the US-based charity Autism Speaks, which is now described as ‘the world’s largest autism fundraising charity’. In 2006 the charity […]
Learning Disability and Human Rights
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has just (June 2016) published a number of new resources aimed at “putting human rights at the heart of health and social care”. The EHRC states that these resources are “aimed at nurses, midwives, residential care staff and those working with people who have learning difficulties”.
New DWP factsheet: “Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment – the main differences”
The following is taken from the latest edition Touchbase , the Department for Work and Pension’s online newsletter (Edition 111, received 26th May). This news item should be read in conjunction with a recent posting on Rescare’s website on the DLA to PIP conversion timetable. The relevant section of the newsletter ran as follows: “Differences […]
Work Capability Assessments (WCAs), and Questions for DWP.
The writer of this blog recently had to complete Work Capability Assessment (WCA) questionnaire (Ref. ESA50) on behalf of his autistic and learning-disabled son. Quite a task – a 20-page form to be completed to a deadline set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). At least it can, in part, be viewed as […]
Flagging up a (not widely publicised) way to challenge a local authority’s actions, decisions, policies or practices.
Belindsa Schwehr, an expert on learning disability and the law, recently posted a blog in the publicly accessible section of her website ‘Schwehr on Care’ snappily entitled “Using the Monitoring Officer as a free and convenient means to raise concerns about illegality, in the public law sense, in adult social care” In it, she highlights […]
Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (ADMC Act) enacted in the Republic of Ireland
We are aware that many UK residents and British citizens have family ties or other links to the Republic of Ireland, and may be interested in the new legislation relating to learning disability and capacity enacted in December 2015. The (ADMC Act) provided a long-overdue update and reform of legislation in the Republic.
Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) – New Guidance for Social Workers.
I have to admit to my own ignorance with regard to Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). I was reminded of this by an item in a recent newsletter from 39 Essex Street (legal chambers). This cited the publication of new guidance on ABI published by the British Association of Social Workers .
Not Pleasant Viewing…
There have been two documentaries on television this week that have really highlighted just how bad things can be for people with mental health problems and disabilities. The first was Panorama shown on BBC 1 on Monday 10.4.16 and dealt with young peoples in patient psychiatric services or more specifically the lack of facilities for […]