The Community Adult Learning Disabilities service hosted two inspiring ‘Listening and Learning’ events in Havering, Barking and Dagenham (17 June) and Waltham Forest and Redbridge (19 June) to mark National Learning Disability Week (16-22 June). 

This year’s theme – Do You See Me? – invites us all to reflect on visibility, inclusion and equity for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

The events were a chance for service users, carers and staff to come together and have honest conversations about lived experiences, and how we can work together to shape services that are truly accessible for all.

Opening the event, NELFT Chief Executive Officer, Paul Calaminus acknowledged the critical role of these conversations:

“This is about what we can do together, collaboratively. That is where the power is. We have so much to be proud of and I want to thank our service users and carers for being at the heart of this work.”

The annual events are designed to reflect on progress made since last year’s feedback and new objectives towards strategic initiatives, through collaborative leadership from Dr Bini Thomas, Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Darren Savarimuthu, ADON, Nirupama Rao, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. It was also a valuable opportunity to hear new ideas and feedback from service users and carers about how we can continue to improve the experience for people with learning disabilities and/or autism who access our services, bringing to the forefront a person-centred approach.

Dr. Bini Thomas, spoke passionately about the service’s ambition:

“We are aiming to ensure our services are equitable for all. Everyone deserves access to health and care in a way that makes sense for them.”

Accessible Information Standard and Green Light Toolkit Lead, Charlotte Wood, spoke about the purpose of the Green Light Toolkit audit in aim for us to effectively benchmark our services and make informed decisions about where improvements can be made, for service users with learning disabilities and/or autism, and the NHS England Accessible Information Standard that supports teams to ensure that information and communication is provided in a way service users can understand to reduce health inequalities and improve equitable access.  

Peer Support Worker, Danny French, who is autistic and has a mild learning disability, works with the team. He says:

“We have open ears and open hearts and seeing so many people benefit from these events, warms my soul. As a person with lived experience, I am so proud to have built trust with our service users and to ensure they have the right support so they can thrive.”

Mariatu Kanu, Intensive Support Team (IST), Manager highlighted that crisis management in the community has helped prevention of admissions for people with learning disabilities.

Rizwana Dudhia, Lead Pharmacist for Learning Disabilities and Autism spoke about the importance of the STOMP agenda towards improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities.

Lastly, people at the event were brought to tears by a speech from one of our service users, Marie, who spoke about her experiences, she said:

 “I owe my life to this service. I am now confident to go to church, and I have joined a choir, and just enjoying my life. I have been out of inpatient care a whole year now thanks to this team.”

These annual events are open to all and are a powerful example of how listening to the voices of those with lived experience can lead to real, meaningful change.