Agenda item

Resolved: the committee noted the information presented and invited Lewisham Speaking Up and Lewisham People’s Parliament to present future findings to the committee.

Colin Finch (Advocacy coordinator, Lewisham Speaking Up) and Aisha Edwards (Lewisham People’s Parliament Rep) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

4.1       Health treatment for people with a learning disability is not always equal and many deaths among people with learning disability are avoidable. There have been a number of upsetting stories in the media, including that of a young man with Down’s syndrome who died from constipation. An inquest into the death found significant failures at almost every stage of his care.

4.2       The Lewisham People’s Parliament looked at the everyday experiences of using healthcare services for people with learning disability. It found that the experiences were mixed but that taking some simple steps in three key areas can make a big difference. These areas are: good communication, good staff attitudes, and the right reasonable adjustments.

4.3       Following a series of workshops, it was recommended that:

·         There is wider use of hospital passports, health action plans and annual health checks, this includes promoting these tools among people with learning disability.

·         There is more training for staff on how to communicate well with people with learning disability and how to treat them equally.

·         There are more reasonable adjustments for people with learning disability.

·         Shorter waiting times and longer appointments would make using health services easier for people with learning disability.

• There is a better understanding from health professional that people with learning disability have the right to make their own decisions about health care.

4.4       Lewisham Speaking Up is now working with Lewisham CCG to make sure that people have annual health checks. It is also helping the CCG with how they review what happened when someone with a learning disability dies.

4.5       In response to a query from the witnesses, the independent Chair of the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) noted that Lewisham has not yet received any referrals about the death of a person with learning disability. There are some that have been completed elsewhere in England and the LSAB Chair offered to make the learning from these report available to Lewisham Speaking Up. The LSAB Chair also invited Lewisham Speaking Up to a safeguarding adults board meeting to present their concerns and seek reassurance as to the arrangements being put in place to prevent early deaths.

4.6       One committee member noted their experience of support workers being unwilling to intervene in relation to poor diet. The member noted that this can lead to weight gain and poor health and queried what could be done without restricting individual freedoms.

4.7       The LSAB Chair noted that it is important that care workers are appropriately trained, aware of issues such as mental capacity and that family members are involved and listened to. The Chair noted that support workers can be interventionist and make safeguarding personal.

4.8       Council officers noted that they will be auditing support plans and looking more in depth at how personalised they are.

4.9       The committee noted that an annual update from the Lewisham People’s Parliament might be something the incoming committee in the next administration might wish to look at again.

Resolved: the committee noted the information presented and invited Lewisham Speaking Up and Lewisham People’s Parliament to present future findings to the committee.