News
Talbot House Support Centre has just launched a brand new website.
Click to view http://www.talbothouse.org.uk/
For more information please contact
Moe Gavin,
Administrator
Talbot House
tel: 0161 203 4095
email: info@talbothouse.org.uk
Recent News
- The funeral of John Cookney (click here)
- A statement to the Prime Minister in response to the exposé of abuse of learning disabled adults at a private hospital. (click here)
- Life Changes - Learning Disability Awareness. (click here)
The funeral of John Cookney a friend colleague and ambassador to the service took place on Monday 11th July.
The Service was extremely well attended he will be deeply missed.
Statement to the Prime Minister
This statement has been sent to the Prime Minister in response to the exposé of abuse of learning disabled adults at a private hospital.
- Our proposals are based on the evidence of what works in public services - knowledge that has been the basis of the policy of successive governments. Those policies just need to be implemented.
- One element of this is that there is no place for hospitals such as Winterbourne View. Beyond a very small number of beds integrated with other local services for short-term assessment and treatment and a small number of others linked to forensic needs, the provision of learning disability hospitals is wrong. The model does not work and should be made unnecessary by competent local services. The only way forward is a planned and properly supported programme of work to replace existing hospitals with proper individualised, evidence based services and supports that are integrated as far as possible into local communities.
- There is a wide consensus across the learning disability field about how to respond to the issues identified by Panorama. Our proposals are not contentious in the field, having been endorsed by a very broad range of people and organisations, including representatives of people with learning disabilities and family carers.
- Whilst the organisations that particularly failed in allowing the abuse at Winterbourne View should be held to account for their failures, (the provider, the regulator and the various commissioners), focusing only on them would be a mistake. The underpinning issue is one of the overall service and system design - hence the need for Government to take a lead. Without the type of actions we suggest below, there is a very real risk of similar things happening again, elsewhere.
- Whilst this abuse took place in England, under English policy, similar services exist in the other countries of the UK. We are therefore also copying this letter to the relevant Ministers and officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (our signatories come from all four countries)."
Among the 86 signatories, national leaders in the learning disability field, were the following from Manchester:
Mark Burton, Head of Manchester Learning Disability Partnership and Visiting Professor of Human Services, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Liz Bruce, Strategic Director, Adults, Manchester City Council and ADASS NW lead for people with learning disabilities.
Duncan Mitchell, Editor, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, Head of Research and Evidence, Manchester Learning Disability Partnership and Professor of Disability and Health, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Here are some quotations from the statement:-
"We were disturbed and distressed to see the evidence of abuse and service failure that was shown on the recent Panorama programme but believe that it is an almost unavoidable consequence of the continuing use of inappropriate services to support some people with learning disabilities.
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We are aware of the various actions currently being taken within and outside government - such as the DH review and CQC internal inquiry. We hope to make submissions to those both individually and collectively. However, on their own these will not be enough and a clear programme is needed to achieve change.
.....
We wish to emphasise five important points:
Click the links below to view the full statement and easy read version.
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A national response to the abuse of people with learning disabilities | |
A national response to the abuse of people with learning disabilities (easy read) |
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press release |
Life Changes - Learning Disability Awareness
We're all different people yet we share the same community and expect to be treated with dignity respect and as equal citizens. This video showcases how Manchester is working to improve the quality of life for people with a learning disability.
(To view full screen, please click the button on the bottom right of the above video).
For more information or any queries related to this video please contact admin@manmedia.co.uk.
We believe in respecting learning disabled people's right to INDEPENDENCE, INCLUSION, CHOICE, and INVOLVEMENT IN CARE. This is an on-going process supported by City Council and Primary Care Trust initiatives, which are informed by the Department of Health.
