CQC raises concerns over learning disability care

Many care homes and hospitals are still failing to provide patient-centred care for people with learning difficulties, said the Care Quality Commission watchdog.

In a report from its review of services for people with learning disabilities, the regulator found many care homes and hospitals are failing to provide patient-centred care.

An analysis of 40 inspection reports found many services are failing to provide care based on the individual needs of people.

The reports are part of a targeted programme of 150 unannounced inspections of hospitals and care homes that care for people with learning disabilities.

Bernadette Hanney, national project lead for the Learning Disability Review said: ‘People must be placed at the centre of their care. We have found that too often people are not involved in the development of their care plans. And often those care plans lack detail about the person’s preferences, which can have an adverse impact on the quality of care provided.’

Inspection teams found that often people don’t get enough activities, care records were not accessible and care plans were not written in plain English.

Molly Mattingly, head of Learning Disability Programmes for the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities called it ‘disappointing that after so many years talking about personalisation and the need for person centred planning, it is still not embedded in care services. As usual there is a gulf between the rhetoric and policy and actual care delivery practice on the ground.’

She added: ‘Person centred planning is key to ensuring that every individual with learning disabilities is being supported and treated properly. Just because people have learning disabilities does not mean that they are not capable of being involved in decisions that affect their lives. Our involvement with the Department of Health, The Impact of Person Centred Planning in 2005 showed that putting individuals with learning disabilities at the heart of their own care planning process leads to better outcomes.’

A national report into the findings of the programme will be published in the Spring.

The programme, triggered by the Panorama TV programme which uncovered systemic abuse at Winterbourne View care home, is looking at whether people with learning disabilities experience safe and appropriate care, treatment and support and whether they are protected from abuse.

Molly Mattingly, head of Learning Disability Programmes for the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities is pictured above