The Getting it Right Charter Dan Scorer Head of Policy, Research & Public Affairs
Background to the Charter
2010: Getting it Right Addressing the inequalities identified in Treat me right and Death by indifference We wanted to give NHS staff advice on how to treat people with a learning disability better We provided them with a charter to help make this happen
Some numbers What did the charter achieve? 244 health organisations signed up across England, Wales and NI (where we work) Who were they? Foundation Trusts, Hospital Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, PCT/CCGs, Ambulance Trusts, Medical Colleges, private providers
What have we learned? The Charter was an important tactic- it gave NHS organisations a way to show they wanted to take action about the issues Death by Indifference was raising. It was a tool that could be used within NHS organisations by senior managers and clinicians to generate awareness and drive change
What have we learned? It gave campaigners a clear objective- getting their local NHS organisations to sign up, and then hold them to account for implementing the charter objectives
What was our learning? Window dressing In some Trusts the Charter may have been window dressing, as we have since had families contact us whose loved ones have died avoidably in Trusts signed up to the Charter, and who also had LD nurses. Reputational risk We weren t auditing or inspecting compliance with the Charter, so there was a genuine risk that deaths or poor treatment in an NHS organisation signed up to the charter could come back to us for comment, or an explanation
What was our learning? Outcome frameworks There is a clear need to ensure that charter objectives are linked into regulatory or commissioner outcome frameworks We tried this with a follow-up Charter, following the NHS shake-up of 2012/13 and the creation of CCGs- linking the Charter into new commissioning practices, Self Assessment Frameworks and rapidly emerging agendas, such as Transforming Care
CCG charter Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for the majority of England s health budget We produced a charter to support CCGs around England to commission care that meets the needs of people with a learning disability We hope the charter will help make sure local services are better commissioned and keep people with a learning disability in mind
What was our learning? Real change Limited take up in a challenging environment of massive change Changing culture, attitudes and practice takes more than a charter
Getting it Right- from the Start A three year pilot project (2011-14) commissioned by the Department of Health s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund The main aim of the project was to work with GP Practices on making reasonable adjustments to primary care services for people who have a learning disability
Volunteers with a learning disability delivered workshops to GP surgery staff, including doctors. They were supported by mentors and locality coordinators. Partnership working between Mencap groups and 4 Clinical Commissioning Groups (Mid Devon/Exeter, Northamptonshire, East Surrey & North Tyneside.
Overall, the 4 pilots: Involved 62 regular volunteers over 3 years Worked with 72 GP Practices Volunteers delivered 72 Workshops attended by a total of 718 Practice staff, including GPs, Nurses, Practice Managers, Receptionists etc Workshops covered 4 key themes: Learning Disability Awareness, Communication, Reasonable Adjustments, Easy Read / Accessible Information 93% of health staff who attended would recommend our workshops to colleagues
Confidential Inquiry- findings On average, men with a learning disability die 13 years earlier and women with a learning disability die 20 years earlier 37% of the deaths could have been avoided with good healthcare Scaling this up, 1,200 people with a learning disability are dying prematurely every year
For more information Visit our website www.mencap.org.uk/deathbyindifference www.mencap.org.uk/gettingitright