{"id":270325,"date":"2010-02-03T10:18:28","date_gmt":"2010-02-03T15:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/careandsupport.direct.gov.uk\/?p=2875"},"modified":"2010-02-03T10:18:28","modified_gmt":"2010-02-03T15:18:28","slug":"minister-sees-integration-in-action-in-milton-keynes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/270325","title":{"rendered":"Minister sees integration in action in Milton Keynes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"~2534458\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Integration of services was the focus for the second of Care Services Minister Phil Hope\u2019s visits highlighting good practice in care and support.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Minister visited Tower Drive Centre in Milton Keynes. The centre provides a wide range of services for people with learning disabilities in a highly integrated format. Acting as a single point of access, it brings together local NHS services and care and support services.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf local NHS and social care services work together, we can improve people\u2019s quality of life\u00a0and cut costs,\u201d Mr Hope said. \u201cOur new network will help showcase services, share best practice and drive up the quality of care across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The centre boasts psychiatrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, dieticians, nurses, social workers, clinical psychologists, counsellors and behaviour support workers all working under one roof, and often in the same office space. These services are integrated to the point that different professions are able to share administrative information.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStaff numbers have not increased, but they\u2019re better trained. We really have maximised the capacity of our team,\u201d said Maurica Legg, Joint Services Manager, Learning Disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are lucky as a centre because we are in very close proximity,\u201d said the centre\u2019s Service Co-ordinator Andrea Natale. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of direct liaison now, we can pick up the phone to the physios or the behaviour support team as we\u2019ve got a lot of relationships not just here but with the wider team. We obviously have referral systems but they\u2019re all transparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving all that helps us support people holistically, they get a whole service. It is about giving them the time to explore things. We\u2019re trying to give the power back to individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

People who use the centre range from those with profound learning disabilities to others who make use of the drop-in facility. They attend from one to five days a week according to their needs and desires.<\/p>\n

The Minister talked to staff at the centre and met a number of service users, dropped in to a yoga class and even tried his hand at some arts and crafts.<\/p>\n

\"Phil<\/a><\/p>\n

The centre\u2019s work goes way beyond the 65 people who visit regularly. Health and care and support workers often go out to service users to work with them in their own environment. The centre also acts as a hub for various community based projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to get people out,\u201d said Lyn Scott, Assistant Director of Adult Social Care in Milton Keynes. \u201cWe have themed discos, and balls with posh frocks and DJs and limos \u2013 people absolutely love it. We have a theatre group called Encompass. We perform at the Milton Keynes theatre. We did Grease two years ago, and this year we\u2019re doing West Side Story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a football team that plays in a national disability league. We use the MK Dons\u2019 facilities. We have a very active carers group \u2013 they support us in a lot of our endeavours, we couldn\u2019t do it without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got specialist bikes adapted for people with limited ability,\u201d said Andrea Natale. \u201cWe have a music festival which we hold outside. We hire a stage and get the whole community involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the activities link into future projects and events. If we have a weekly drama and dance session, it would lead to a performance at the music festival. We\u2019re working on art at the moment because we\u2019re having a themed valentines evening and disco.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cWe arrange quizzes and do different things for fund raising so that we can have all these extra activities. We had an art exhibition and the pictures we sold paid for art equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every summer the centre holds a \u201ctaster fortnight\u201d, where service users can try out the different activities on offer. If they discover something that they like, staff at the centre look to build it into their care plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help people\u2019s personal development so they don\u2019t get a static service for the next 40 years,\u201d said Andrea Natale. \u201cThey lead the service, we try and provide what they are telling us that they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like retaining the good bits of traditional care, but trying to also get people to experience a new challenge so they can make choices of what they want to do. If they don\u2019t try it they don\u2019t know,\u201d said Day Services and Employment Manager Karen Shaw.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cPeople don\u2019t have to come in to the centre, there is a whole set of people who don\u2019t. They might have outgrown it or just don\u2019t want to. We want people to dip in and dip out. We help with their personal development. It\u2019s about giving them the time and support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Integration of services was the focus for the second of Care Services Minister Phil Hope\u2019s visits highlighting good practice in care and support. The Minister visited Tower Drive Centre in Milton Keynes. The centre provides a wide range of services for people with learning disabilities in a highly integrated format. Acting as a single point […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}