Use of community facilities by adolescents with severe mental handicapsHalliday, Sabrina; Woolnough, Lyn
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00546.xpmid: N/A
This study examined the use of community facilities by three groups of adolescents with severe mental handicaps before and after they moved into staffed houses in the community. Results were positive, showing an increased use of everyday facilities and a decreased use of facilities for people with handicaps in all houses, irrespective of how long the young people had been in residence. The use of leisure facilities and public transport was also increased for those who had lived in the community the longest. The number and variety of “other” experiences, events organised or attended, increased for all the young people, attesting to their enriched life style once in the community.
ANOTHER POINT OF VIEWBarker, Beth
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00547.xpmid: N/A
Burnside is a London Borough of Redbridge social education centre for men and women with mental handicaps. Its staff see their role as helping centre members claim their role as adults with some independence. If members' relatives take the role of protective parents of children, they may prevent their adult sons and daughters from claiming this right.
Community provision for people with mental handicapsCooper, Dereck; Ghataora, Rajinder
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00548.xpmid: N/A
This article discusses the findings and implications of a comprehensive survey of carers of people with mental handicaps recently undertaken in Dudley. The survey looked at the use and perceived need for services, and the question of the future care, accommodation, and support of this client group. The article draws attention to several key issues which emerged for providers of services in the community. Firstly, it notes that carers form a highly concerned and vocal group, eager to participate in the planning of service provision. Secondly, it points to the relationship which exists between knowledge of services and demand for services, and to that between the availability of services and satisfaction with services. Thirdly, it focuses on important differences in the attitudes of those caring for younger people and those caring for older people with mental handicaps. Finally, it stresses the growing need for careful planning of future services, especially for the time when carers can no longer cope.
REFLECTIONS of a community mental handicap teamPollitt, Anne; Cooke, Leila
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00549.xpmid: N/A
Eighteen months on from its introduction the members of the Central Frenchay Community Mental Handicap Team reflected on their activities, looking at who had done what to whom, where, why, and with what results. Whilst recognising that service user based data may not be the most effective measure for evaluating team performance, nevertheless the information provides a useful starting point for analysing the achievements of one community mental handicap team during its implementation period.
QUALITY MATTERS 1. “Slicing the apple”James, Judy; Howell, Hilary; Abbott, Kerry
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00550.xpmid: N/A
As community based mental handicap services develop, there is a need to build in ways of maintaining and improving their quality. In the first of this four‐part series of articles ways of looking at and measuring quality are discussed. It is argued that it is important to look at what the term “quality of life” means personally to each service provider and service user, and that any approach to maintaining and improving quality should be a multidimensional and dynamic process, based on a clear values system. A culture needs to be created where all stakeholders feel motivated to monitor and improve services. Some potential methods of doing this, as determined by a working party of the Bath District Health Authority Planning Team, are itemised. Subsequent articles will look at a number of these in more detail.
Innovations in care for children with mental handicapsBose, Ruchira
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1989.tb00553.xpmid: N/A
Due to the trend towards caring for children with mental and/or physical handicaps at home, and as a result of several research projects which have emphasised the difficult, ongoing, and tiring jobs faced by their families, the last decade has seen a greater emphasis on community provision. This study evaluates one community care scheme, namely the Canterbury and Thanet Link Family Scheme, which aims to provide parents with a much needed break from the difficulties experienced in caring for their children with mental and/or physical handicaps. Preliminary findings suggest than the main carers in families who use the scheme experience less stress than those who do not. The findings are discussed and suggestions for further analysis are made.