Better Health for people with learning disabilities

For £22,720 we will deliver the following; 

• a two-hour meeting and lunch once a month in 336 Brixton Road for ten months between health professionals and different local groups of people with learning disabilities (PWLDs).

• health professionals (HPs) will explain what they do and how their services can be contacted

• Healthy Living Platform will provide a healthy lunch and explain about healthy eating 

• staff with LDs from Breaking Out of the Bubble (BOB) will develop and provide training in supportive ways of working with PWLDs

• PWLD will have an opportunity to point out issues they face when wanting to access services and ask any questions they want

• BOB will develop and provide a handout for HPs about making services more accessible and supportive for PWLDs

• BOB will also compile a list of contacts to share with PWLD and the services that support them using information from HPs. BOB will share this list with local services for PWLDs and individuals with LDs  

We intend to support the following groups and communities:

• Local adults with LDs from the groups and organisations we have worked with, including, Roots and Shoots, local colleges, community centres, Share Community, local residential homes, supported housing including Key Ring, Lambeth Learning Disability Forum and independent PWLD we work with

• HPs we invite will include care co-ordinators, GPs, nurses from both mental and physical health services, pharmacists, dentists, opticians, leisure centres, sports coaches and other free or inexpensive community health practitioners who help combat stress isolation and other mental and physical health conditions (such as yoga, art and swimming teachers and other therapeutic practitioners). 

The project will make the following difference:

• HPs will know how to support PWLDs better

• HPs will have access to the views of PWLDs, which they would not be able to access otherwise. 

• HPs will take away guidelines about how to support PWLD 

• HPs and PWLD will meet each other on equal footing, improving the chances of PWLDs feeling more confident about contacting services

• PWLD will get to know more about what health services are out there and what they provide

• PWLD will have information about who to contact within those services

• increase the chances of PWLD maintaining better health and well-being both physically and mentally. It is well documented, that on average PWLD die younger and have higher rates of mental health problems related to isolation, abuse, poverty and lack of access to supportive services

This project will help our community in the following ways:

• PWLD in Lambeth will know more about what services are on offer and what is out there

• PWLD will have met representatives from services and have their contact details to get in touch and receive support or help

• PWLD will know more about healthy eating and practices and services that can lead to better health

• this will contribute to PWLD in Lambeth getting equal health care and taking part in health promoting activities in the community, leading to improved health and well-being

• this will be supportive of the further integration of PWLD in the local community

This is why we think this project will be a success

• Healthy Living Platform have agreed to be involved in this project and they are also based in 336 Brixton Road

• Last financial year BOB worked with over 50 organisations and over 120 PWLDs

• BOB has a long history of influencing and training. We have trained NICE, Guys hospital staff, care co-ordinators and The Social Care Institute for Excellence staff on involving and supporting people with learning difficulties as well as lots of local organisations. Last financial year among the number training and influencing events we were involved in we trained over 20 Police Cadets.

• We recently were invited to give a talk on our work at the House of Lords as an example of innovative good practice at a grass roots level.

• BOB has a lot of experience in bringing people together and finding out the views of PWLD. For example, we have recruited groups for the Care Quality Commission and hosted a large hate crime conference in March 2023 which was attended by 30 PWLD and at least 9 services in Lambeth.

• In short, we have both the connections and experience to carry of this project successfully.