By Sanctuary Supported Living’s Operations Director, Sara Keetley

Consider each of the hundreds of decisions, both big and small, that you make each day. Now imagine that the right to make those decisions has been taken away from you. How frustrating that would feel?

Freedom of choice is important to everyone, and no less so for people with learning disabilities. When it comes to finding somewhere to live and receiving care or support, people with learning disabilities should be given the same choices and opportunities as you or I would expect, without question. A ‘one size fits all’ approach to housing and care ignores people’s individual needs, preferences and wishes.

The recent CQC report: ‘Out of sight – who cares?’ highlighted the shocking way some people with complex care needs, including those with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs, are treated within certain hospital and care settings – including the use of restraint,
seclusion and segregation. It is unacceptable that these methods of managing people’s behaviour are still used.

At Sanctuary Supported Living, we support more than 500 people with learning disabilities across England, through supported housing with or without personal care and support, and residential care homes.

We know that people want to live in their own home, not hospitals, so everything we do is underpinned by our ethos, ‘pathways to independence’, as we aim to help people live their lives as independently as possible, whatever that may mean for them.

We value each person as an individual – their life history, family, physical health and emotional needs. We look at the root causes of any challenging behaviour and focus on enriching their quality of life by adopting ways of working that embrace the life they choose to live.

We use Positive Behaviour Support to work with the individual, their families and carers (with consent) to create specific care and support plans which consider whether someone may be a danger to themselves or others, as well as building on their skills and strengths.

We worked with an individual with complex needs who, at his previous care service, had broken a staff member’s arm and bitten off a former resident’s ear. He spent his days there isolated in his room, becoming aggressive when anybody entered.

Our team undertook a behaviour assessment and discovered he had needs relating to his autism that were going unmet, causing him to react violently. He had a complete turnaround after solutions were put in place and he spent his final five years in his own home, living a life with value – without a single incident of challenging behaviour reported.

We also supported a young woman who had a history of aggression and self-harm. She’d previously been living in shared accommodation but had been evicted because of issues there.

Working closely with her and the people who knew her well, our team assessed her situation and her support needs, and secured a flat for her, so she could live more independently. She has now made it into a real home and has the support she needs on her doorstep. The difference has been remarkable.

A lack of housing with care provision for people with learning disabilities should never result in trapping people in hospitals. With appropriate housing, and tailored care and support, people with disabilities can live the life they choose. We must continue to provide a range of housing with care options, to meet each person’s individual needs, and we should also speak up and advocate for those who are unable to do so for themselves.