This toolkit offers information and advice for professionals working with older deafblind people. It explains what deafblindness is and how it affects people. It sets out the legal responsibilities that social services have and explains how deafblind people can be supported and helped.
This toolkit offers information and advice for professionals working with older deafblind people. It explains what deafblindness is and how it affects people. It sets out the legal responsibilities that social services have and explains how deafblind people can be supported and helped.
Extended abstract:
AuthorSENSE
Title
Fill in the gaps: a toolkit for professionals working with older deafblind people.
Publisher
Sense, 2006
Summary
This toolkit offers information and advice for professionals working with older deafblind people. It explains what deafblindness is and how it affects people. It sets out the legal responsibilities that social services have and explains how deafblind people can be supported and helped.
Context
Increasing numbers of older people are developing hearing and vision problems. Some have substantial hearing and vision difficulties, known as deafblindness. Often this comes on very gradually. Older people themselves, and others around them, may not recognise or understand what is happening. Because of this combined hearing and vision loss they may have problems with communicating, getting around and accessing information. This can cause difficulties with many everyday activities and can make them feel excluded from society. But it doesn't have to be like this. If the right services and opportunities are available, older deafblind people can live independently and make choices about how they wish to live. If appropriate services are provided at the right time, the need for greater health and social care provision later can be reduced. Local authorities now have statutory responsibilities towards other people with combined hearing and vision loss, arising from the guidance 'Social care for deafblind children and adults' (LAC 2001(8). They are required to provide specialist assessments, appropriate information and services designed to meet the need of deafblind people. The guidance is referred to throughout this booklet. In many cases older deafblind people are seen by a social work team for older people, rather than a team which specialises in sensory impairment. The booklet explains how users can ensure that older deafblind people get the support they are entitled to.
Contents
The first chapter explains that the term 'deafblind' describes people of all ages with a combined hearing and vision impairment. They may be deaf or hard of hearing as well as blind or partially sighted. They do not have to be completely deaf and blind; in fact, most deafblind people have some useful hearing or vision. It explains what deafblindness is, how it affects older people, sensory loss, and how many older people are affected. The second chapter, on legal requirements, explains that all social services teams need to understand how to respond to the needs of deafblind people, setting out how the guidance relates to other guidance the reader will be working with. It explains what the guidance says, the Single Assessment Process, Fair Access to Care Services, recognising deafblindness and the National Service Framework. Chapter 3 looks at some of the simple, practical steps that can be taken to help identify older deafblind people, communicate effectively and provide information in accessible formats. It asks how the team can work effectively with older deafblind people and covers indicators of hearing and vision loss and communicating effectively face to face and at a distance, ending with a checklist. Resources including useful organisations and websites are listed.
9 references
Subject terms:
older people, sensory impairments, social services, deaf blindness;
This document introduces 43 indicators for quality improvement for voluntary, local use in a community setting. These carefully chosen quality indicators are designed to assist local service improvement and help to raise the standard of care delivered to patients and communities. The indicators are grouped into the following categories: health and wellbeing; children and families; acute care; rehabilitation; long term conditions; end of life; general. To get the best from the community indicators, it is important to select those that measure what is valued and what matters to the people who use local services, and which instigate and inform dialogue about where improvement is needed. These indicators should help clinicians and frontline services to measure and monitor quality improvement, by indicating where change is needed and demonstrating what high quality personalised care looks like.
This document introduces 43 indicators for quality improvement for voluntary, local use in a community setting. These carefully chosen quality indicators are designed to assist local service improvement and help to raise the standard of care delivered to patients and communities. The indicators are grouped into the following categories: health and wellbeing; children and families; acute care; rehabilitation; long term conditions; end of life; general. To get the best from the community indicators, it is important to select those that measure what is valued and what matters to the people who use local services, and which instigate and inform dialogue about where improvement is needed. These indicators should help clinicians and frontline services to measure and monitor quality improvement, by indicating where change is needed and demonstrating what high quality personalised care looks like.
Subject terms:
local authorities, long term conditions, older people, performance management, social services, children, families, health care;
This book has a practical focus which is providing a series of practical tools that can be used to put personal care plans into action. This will help all staff to achieve an informed vision of a new style of personal care planning which empowers service users. It will assist them in making their own needs known, and help staff and service users to make decisions about how those needs may be met. It will assist staff, together with service users, to achieve decisions. The book includes a number of checklists to enable these needs to be met. Care staff with their colleagues and managers can use these checklists to evaluate the ways that they work, and the way that systems for personal care planning operate.
This book has a practical focus which is providing a series of practical tools that can be used to put personal care plans into action. This will help all staff to achieve an informed vision of a new style of personal care planning which empowers service users. It will assist them in making their own needs known, and help staff and service users to make decisions about how those needs may be met. It will assist staff, together with service users, to achieve decisions. The book includes a number of checklists to enable these needs to be met. Care staff with their colleagues and managers can use these checklists to evaluate the ways that they work, and the way that systems for personal care planning operate.
Subject terms:
managers, long term care, older people, social services, teams, user views, case records, care management, care planning, empowerment;
This toolkit provides recommendations and examples of innovative practice for professionals working in social services providing care for older people. It is based on desktop literature research and the result of the European Social Network’s (ESN) work on ageing and care between 2014 and 2016. Chapters cover knowledge and best practice around initiatives to promote active ageing and independence, carers support, improving the coordination of health and social care services, and support for people with complex needs and disabilities as they grow older. Chapter one focuses on the promotion of active ageing and discusses key developments such as supporting volunteering, prevention and early intervention, and rehabilitation. Chapter two highlights the challenges in recruiting sufficient qualified social care staff, particularly in the provision of long-term care and looks at how to better support informal carers. Chapter three discusses cooperation and integration opportunities in older people’s services. It analyses the challenges of integrated services at three different levels: macro-level, meso-level and micro-level. The final chapter explores how people with multiple conditions can be supported most effectively in a person-centred way, including people living with dementia and people with learning disabilities. Each chapter includes a review of the legal and policy frameworks and examples from practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This toolkit provides recommendations and examples of innovative practice for professionals working in social services providing care for older people. It is based on desktop literature research and the result of the European Social Network’s (ESN) work on ageing and care between 2014 and 2016. Chapters cover knowledge and best practice around initiatives to promote active ageing and independence, carers support, improving the coordination of health and social care services, and support for people with complex needs and disabilities as they grow older. Chapter one focuses on the promotion of active ageing and discusses key developments such as supporting volunteering, prevention and early intervention, and rehabilitation. Chapter two highlights the challenges in recruiting sufficient qualified social care staff, particularly in the provision of long-term care and looks at how to better support informal carers. Chapter three discusses cooperation and integration opportunities in older people’s services. It analyses the challenges of integrated services at three different levels: macro-level, meso-level and micro-level. The final chapter explores how people with multiple conditions can be supported most effectively in a person-centred way, including people living with dementia and people with learning disabilities. Each chapter includes a review of the legal and policy frameworks and examples from practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
older people, social care provision, social services, prevention, carers, social care staff, complex needs, person-centred care, volunteers, rehabilitation, good practice, integrated care, learning disabilities, dementia;
This guide presents best practice checklists for frontline practitioners and carers working with black and ethnic minority older people. In particular it is designed as a tool to help practitioners incorporate a holistic approach to care planning and assessment.
This guide presents best practice checklists for frontline practitioners and carers working with black and ethnic minority older people. In particular it is designed as a tool to help practitioners incorporate a holistic approach to care planning and assessment.
Subject terms:
holistic care, older people, quality assurance, social services, best value, carers, black and minority ethnic people, care management, care planning, cultural identity, good practice;
Part of a 6 volume package containing all the guidance issued by the Social Work Services Group and the Social Work Services Inspectorate of the Scottish Office to local authorities from 1967 which is still in force. All other circulars and guidance issued by the SWSG since that date have been cancelled. All the volumes are designed to be updated when new circulars are issued. This volume contains sections 3-10 on community care. These are: choice of accommodation; commissioning and purchasing; complaints; dementia; disabled people; day services; domiciliary care; and health.
Part of a 6 volume package containing all the guidance issued by the Social Work Services Group and the Social Work Services Inspectorate of the Scottish Office to local authorities from 1967 which is still in force. All other circulars and guidance issued by the SWSG since that date have been cancelled. All the volumes are designed to be updated when new circulars are issued. This volume contains sections 3-10 on community care. These are: choice of accommodation; commissioning and purchasing; complaints; dementia; disabled people; day services; domiciliary care; and health.
Subject terms:
local authorities, nursing homes, older people, physical disabilities, purchaser-provider split, residential care, social services, care homes, community care, commissioning, day services, dementia, health care;