RQIA Publishes Review of Community Services for Adults with a Learning Disability
October 18, 2016
Today, RQIA has published the findings of its Review of Community Services for Adults with a Learning Disability, assessing health and social care trusts performance against the Department of Health’s Service Framework for Learning Disability. Whilst the review team found staff were generally familiar with the content of the service framework, there was not a standardised approach to its implementation across the five health and social care trusts.
RQIA’s review team found significant progress in the provision of services across Northern Ireland for adults with a learning disability since our previous review in 2013. These included improvements in access to a wider range of day activities for adults with a learning disability; assessments by GPs of the health needs of adults with a learning disability; and the establishment of specialist teams within trusts to support carers in managing challenging behaviours. However, the review team considered that further improvement is required in a number of areas, including: the provision of family support services; an increase in the uptake of carer’s assessments and direct payments; the development of a single regional community based information system, as access to clear, reliable information continues to be problematic; and provision of easy read materials for adults with a learning disability on trusts’ websites. This review makes a series of recommendations which we believe will support improvements in the provision of services for every adult with a learning disability across Northern Ireland.
Read more in our Press Release, and click here to read our summary leaflet.