FEATURE A Bleak Landscape


Tracey Fletcher, Managing Director of DE Healthcare, a provider of care services for people with learning disabilities, talks about the current funding situation and the discrimination suffered by those coping with physical and learning disabilities, and explains why now, more than ever, caring for the vulnerable should be at the heart of sector.


UK care providers have faced some extremely challenging times in recent years and, unfortunately, the outlook is still bleak from a funding perspective.


Day centres across the country, which provide a safe place for people with disabilities, could face closure due to a £1bn shortfall in government funding, according to a study by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. Findings from over 150 social care directors revealed that many will be cutting vital services. This blow to the many vulnerable people in the UK comes in spite of the government’s efforts to plug the gaps, by giving councils the ability to increase council tax by 2% to spend on care.


Unlike the NHS, people using social care services are asked to make a contribution to the care they receive. This latest squeeze on funding is not only having a knock-on effect on care fees but it also puts a strain on the quality of care providers can deliver as they struggle to cover their costs. DE Healthcare work closely with individuals in their care and their families – many of whom do an outstanding job every day to ensure their loved ones can live happy and meaningful lives. However, with already so much pressure on families and friends to provide support where needed, the future looks bleak for all concerned.


Alongside the increasing financial pressures in the sector, statistics from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) show a 40% rise in the number of prosecutions for hate crimes against people with disabilities.


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Whilst the number of convictions for disability hate crime is shocking, it’s encouraging to see that such crimes aren’t going unnoticed. In the past year, 707 incidents have been reported compared to 503 in 2014-15. The volume of cases passed from the police to the CPS has also risen during the same period. Again, whilst such statistics could be seen as a worry, on the flip side it’s actually encouraging to know that these targeted incidents aren’t slipping through the net and, as a society, we’re no longer turning a blind eye to the abuse suffered by disabled people.


‘‘Day centres across the country, which provide a safe


place for people with disabilities, could face closure


due to a £1bn shortfall in government funding.’’


Changing public attitudes towards people with learning disabilities has a big part to play in ensuring that offenders are punished for verbal abuse or hate crimes towards the disabled. As a carer of people


with complex learning disabilities and mental health conditions, we have a responsibility to help inform and educate society regarding the different types of conditions that exist in order to tackle negative preconceptions.


DE Healthcare visit schools and local organisations on a regular basis to help children from a young age understand the behaviours of people with complex disabilities and what we can do to help them. The ‘Too Much Information’ campaign by the National Autistic Society is the type of initiative that really helps to play a part in educating the general public. The engaging series of videos created as part of the campaign are captivating, and really enable viewers to see the world through the eyes of a young autistic person by explaining, first hand, what triggers certain behaviours.


However, there is still much, much more to be done in this area by care providers, as well as the police and our education departments and other public sector players.


Whilst funding, staffing, poor attitudes and other pressures continue to take their toll on the care sector as a whole, we mustn’t lose sight of the vital social values that many individuals still hold dear. We need to pull together and treat all people equally, affording everyone the opportunities they deserve, including the vulnerable. Now more than ever, care should be at the heart of every community.


www.dehealthcare.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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