Making it Real Priorities and Action Plan

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1. What’s good?

Some of the people who choose to live at Pippin House feel valued and contribute to their community by doing voluntary work. We have one person who volunteers at a local company washing cars.Another person volunteers doing the ironing at a local charity shop and a residential home for elderly people.

2. What’s not good?

Not everybody who lives at Pippin House has the opportunity to contribute to their community by undertaking voluntary work.Opportunities to volunteer are limited because people/employers are worried about not being able to communicate with deaf volunteers who have a learning disability. Potential employers are also concerned about Health and Safety issues, such as not being able to hear a fire alarm.

In recent years there have been fewer opportunities to work in the community. Council-funded day centres have all closed, and they were used a lot by people to feel valued in the community. Although larger companies have actively employed people with a learning disability, because of the limited skill-base of people living at Pippin House, it does make it difficult to access most jobs without full support from care staff with sign language skills.

3. What we want to happen?

We want more people have the opportunity to access voluntary work and feel valued by their community. We want more people to feel part of their community. We would like greater choice and opportunity for people to become involved. We want to encourage total communication environments where people have the tools to communicate with people who are deaf and thus take away the common fear of making a mistake.

4. What we are worried about?

That, according to research, there may not be sufficient choice or availability for voluntary work.People being worried about communicating with a person with a learning disability and a sensory impairment. Having the staff resources and time required to support the people into meaningful employment.

6. This will happen by when?

Priority 7

I feel valued for the contribution that I can make to my community.

Discussions will take place in the New Year at house meetings and core meetings to establish who is interested in looking for voluntary work. One-to-one meetings will take place with people who are interested so we can match interests with people’s skills.Key workers will explore the local community to find what voluntary work is available. Possible voluntary work opportunities will be discussed with the people who use our service. If a person is interested in a specific voluntary work opportunity, we will arrange a meeting and supported tester session.If everyone is happy with the session, we will put suitable personalised arrangements in place, e.g. communication aids, support sessions if needed.

Making it Real Priorities and Action Plan

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Page 2 of 4

7. What’s good?

At Pippin House we have lots of easy-to-understand information about a person’s care and support.Everyone has a designated keyworker and regular core meetings using an accessible, pictorial format.Everyone has access to a personal complaints folder, which that person has helped to develop.People who use our service have assisted in making some of their risk assessments accessible and personal to them. Everyone at Pippin House has a health action plan which is consistent, accurate and up to date.All aspects of a person’s care and support is updated when required and reviewed regularly, ensuring that all information is accurate and up to date.

8. What’s not good?

As you can see from the above, Pippin House has a lot of information in an accessible and personalised format, but there is always room for improvement.Everybody who chooses to live at Pippin House has a health action plan which is consistent, accurate and up to date.These plans could be improved by making them more accessible and personalised.

9. What we want to happen?

We would like people to have more input into developing their new health action plan. We want to give people the opportunity/choice to be more proactive in making their health care plan.We would like to work together to make the health action plan more personal and accessible to all. This will give people a better understanding of their heath and medication.

10. What we are worried about?

Getting the right level of information correct and not causing a person to worry about their health or medication.Some people we support may choose not to be proactive in making their health care plan more personal and accessible.In such cases, that person will be reassured that this is fine.

12. This will happen by when?

Priority 8I have access to easy-to-understand information about care and support which is consistent, accurate, accessible and up to date.

Ways to improve the health action plan will be discussed at staff meetings, house meetings and core meetings in January 2016.

We will arrange photo sessions so that the people who choose to use our service will have photo symbols of themselves signing words that will be relevant to their health action plan.

These photo sessions will take place as early in the New Year as possible.

We will ensure that everyone can be involved in improving their health action plan at some level, depending on that person’s choice and ability.The project will be ongoing throughout the year and allow people to become more or less actively involved.

Making it Real Priorities and Action Plan

Add Priority Statement here:

Page 3 of 4

13. What’s good?

At Pippin House we have lots of easy to understand information about a person’s care and support.Everyone has a designated keyworker and regular core meetings using an accessible, pictorial format.Everyone has access to a personal complaints folder, which that person has helped to develop.People who use our service have assisted in making some of their risk assessments accessible and personal to them. Everyone at Pippin House has a health action plan which is consistent, accurate and up to date.All aspects of a person’s care and support is updated when required and reviewed regularly, ensuring that all information is accurate and up to date.

14. What’s not good?

We found recently that we were not fully prepared for when a person using our service needed to go to hospital at very short notice. We had all the relevant information but it took time to assemble it and get it to the hospital.15. What we want to happen?

We want to have hospital passports for everyone using our service readily available.We would like people to have as much input into their hospital passport as possible. We want the passport to give information such as “I like to communicate using BSL or the written word or pictorial symbols” or “Please use a total communication format when communicating with me” (all of the above)We want these passports to be accessible to that person.

16. What we are worried about?

We don’t want the people who use the service to worry about making this passport.We don’t want people to think they need to go to hospital.Getting the right amount of relevant information into the passport.

18. This will happen by when?

Priority 9I am in control of my care and support.

Ways to introduce the hospital passport will be discussed at staff meetings, house meetings and core meetings in January 2016.

We will arrange photo sessions so that the people who choose to use our service will have photos symbols of themselves signing words.

These words will be relevant to their hospital passports.

These photo sessions will take place as early in the New Year as possible.

We will ensure that everyone will be involved at some level, depending on a person’s choice and abilities in producing an accessible hospital passport.

This will be ongoing throughout the year as people may change their mind and want to become more or less involved..

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