Thank you for helping develop Herts SEND IAS

A big thank you to all who responded to and completed our SEND information, advice and support (IAS) consultation.

We had a really good number of responses which are proving to be helpful as we develop the new service, working closely with Kids Hubs, SENDIASS and Herts Parent/Carer Involvement (HPCI).

Kids Hubs and SENDIASS will continue to offer their services across the county in the existing format until 31 March 2021. We hope to update you again next month, in October 2020 with more information about a new look information, advice and support service from April 2021.

Improving annual health checks

Did you complete the Healthwatch survey on annual health checks?

People with a learning disability often have poorer physical and mental health and a risk of premature mortality compared to other people. To help tackle these issues the NHS introduced an annual appointment for people with Learning Disabilities with their GP.

Feedback from the learning disability community in Hertfordshire highlighted concerns about the uptake and quality of these checks locally. In response, Healthwatch Hertfordshire wanted to understand these concerns and launched a research project to investigate.

Working with its Learning Disability Service Watch group, they ran a survey to find out what people think. A high response rate to the survey meant that nearly 500 people shared their experiences. A full report of the findings, Experiences of Annual Health Checks: Voices from the Learning Disability Community is now available on Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s website and shared with service providers across the County.

You can see an easy read version of the report here

Or, the full report here.

The findings provide a very rich picture of local concerns and issues, particularly around the quality and comprehensiveness of Annual Health Checks. The results show that, despite some good practice, this is not always the case and the report makes clear recommendations for change. Annual Health Checks should help make lives of people with learning disabilities healthier.

Annual Health Checks were established to address the health inequalities that people with learning disabilities so often face. It is therefore vital that we ensure everyone who would benefit from such an annual review experiences a thorough and satisfactory one. The checks need to be offered in a way that gives people choice and encourages them to bring a relative or carer if this would be helpful for them.

If you would like a paper copy of either of the reports, please email localoffer@hertfordshire.gov.uk

 

Updates from our Experts by Experience

Earlier this year Chloe and Georgia joined the Transforming SEND team as Experts by Experience.

Their role is to help us make sure that we change what needs to be changed from the perspectives of children and young people with SEND and their families. Chloe and Georgia have now finished reviewing the Preparing for Adulthood Local Offer content and written a blog on their experiences. Have a look at them with your young person and tell us what you think by commenting below.

They are now designing a ‘Becoming an Adult’ guide to help young people think about and discuss their futures.

Chloe

Georgia