sandr059

A place of greater safety? Risk and people with learning disabilities In this blog I want to think about how risk assessments in specialist learning disability services embody a very partial understanding of risk, particularly when set alongside public health ways of thinking about risk. I also want to go through what I think some of the consequences are for people with learning disabilities, and how we might get a more balanced approach to understanding risk. Why is this blog called ‘A place of greater safety?’ – well, I’ll tell you later. Many people have (rightly) argued that a greater degree of ‘risk’ is necessary for people with learning disabilities to lead more fulfilling lives, and that ‘risk’ is a fundamental right for all citizens. However, these sorts of argument do not challenge how ‘risk’ itself is conceptualised; my intention in this blog is to challenge the notion of ‘risk’ itself as it is commonly applied in risk assessments with people with learning disabilities. W...

A public accounting Coming up to three weeks after the publication of the independent investigation into Connor Sparrowhawk’s death (aka LB – or Laughing Boy) the fitness for purpose of the NHS Trust responsible, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, is becoming increasingly questioned. A series of CQC (Care Quality Commission) inspections reporting very poor standards of care requiring enforcement action across a range of Southern Health services, allied to the health regulator, Monitor “investigating governance concerns triggered by CQC warning notices”, reinforces the sense that all is far from well at Southern Health. [For all the latest news, as well as an ever-lengthening series of blogs from a wide range of people showing their support for @sarasiobhan and @JusticeforLB and their horror at the way the Trust dealt with LB and his family, please go to ‘The Connor Report’ (we really need a Starsky & Hutch-style theme tune) on @sarasiobhan’s blog here http://mydaftlife.wordpress...