Hi Deborah,
this sounds so familiar! There is one very progressive individual within my council who, a couple of years ago, tried to do the same as me - and the residential home actually nearly sued him for this. That's why I am calling for collective action, since they can't sue a bunch of professionals from various organisations and claim we are all lying. As for the involvement of the individuals living at the Residential Home - you cannot imagine how staffs and families would react and consequently treat and pressure them, as we have already been half way down that route with the two individuals I work with because they are both wanting to move out. But moving two people out will not solve the issue, because it would leave the remaining twenty-something individuals in the same place.
What a fantastic idea to contact the valuing people support team! Shall send an e-mail out straight away! Thanks for all the other advice too.
Andrea
>
> From: Deborah Chinn <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2006/07/21 Fri PM 10:50:58 BST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: 21st century institution
>
> I'd like to add my support to Andrea's whistle-blowing. It is very timely
> given the abuses that have come to light in Cornwall; this background will
> make it more likely that the CSCI will take notice. In fact I remember
> reading that there is going to a nationwide audit of learning disability
> services, which means that there might well be a central point for
> collecting this sort of information. Might be worth searching through
> Guardian society pages as that where I think I read about this. what
> about getting in touch with the Valuing People Support team as well?
>
> Dan's advice about getting other organisations on board is absolutely
> right. I had a very nasty experience a few years ago when I came across a
> very abusive practice in a special school, reported it to social services
> as an child protection issue. The police charged in and conducted a very
> heavy handed investigation, but there were no proper strategy meetings,
> the police investigation petered out and I did not see any structural
> change at all. what's more the school effectively banned me from working
> there again (we did eventually sort that one out). I'd had these
> fantasies that once I'd reported the abuse the institution would crumble,
> but of course institutions are tough and resilient and as we know 'eat
> hero-innovators for breakfast' (cf Georgiades and Phillimore).
>
> Another tricky point is how to confront abusive practices whilst retaining
> a regard for the people who enact them. The move to commissioned services
> makes it even more likely that support workers will be untrained,
> underpaid, not unionised, unsupported and exploited themselves. We can't
> evade individual responsibility, but abusive practices flourish in abusive
> systems. what saddens me is that the sort of abuses you mention are so
> widespread in the lives of people with learning disabilities in all sorts
> of services, not just the kind of outmoded institution that you describe.
>
> Deborah Chinn
>
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