Disability Care
TG is in full support of any initiative to enable those with severe
mental and physical disabilities to live in places, close to their
families, where they can be properly looked after with assured long term
continuity of care.
This mandate was passed in June 2015 at the TG AGM in Glasgow. We are now asking members to look at their local communities and their provisions for those with severe disabilities, as this is a topic on which matters will vary by location and thus it is local action that will prove key.
If contacting a company via Facebook or Twitter, please do direct them towards this page and mark any tweets or statuses you post with #disabilitycare
Taking Action
In the Winter 2015 issue of Townswoman we offered suggestions for how members could tackle this topic locally, for example by:
- Looking up any groups or individuals who are campaigning on this topic and inviting a speaker to their Guild meetings to find out how TG members can support ongoing local efforts to address any problems in their area. Responding to stories in local newspapers can help with this.
- Contacting any care homes which are being closed down and asking them what provisions they are making for residents who have been reliant on their care, as well as any other local care homes to find out if and how they are accounting for their long-term sustainability and what would happen to residents should those long-term plans fall through.
- Contacting local authorities to ask how care provision is regulated.
If you know someone who is struggling with this issue, whether directly or as friends and family, and they are willing for their story and wishes to be mentioned when contacting local authorities, MPs and other organisations, this will help add a human touch to your correspondence. If not, you can still speak out as a concerned local resident and TG member, and use that to bolster any ongoing campaigns.
References
The ALLIANCE
http://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/ALLIANCEScot/
https://twitter.com/ALLIANCEScot
Colin Young, Senior Policy and Outcomes Officer for Self Directed Support, spoke at our 2015 AGM in Glasgow during the mandate debate.
Mencap
https://www.mencap.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/Mencap
https://twitter.com/mencap_charity