Learning Disability Centenary Westminster Event

Sara Mayer one of our 3rd year learning disability students writes:

The week of 17 June this year was learning disability week, and 21st June marked 100 years of learning disability nursing! I was amazed to hear I was privileged enough to be nominated by Uni to attend an event in the Houses of Parliament to celebrate this. Here is an account of the day:

It was over whelming to arrive at Westminster, faced straight away by Big Ben as I got off the tube, then humbled by a memorial for PC Palmer, who lost his life defending his country just a few steps away from the Cromwell Green entrance I was instructed to go to. Walking through security and waiting to go in I started chatting to people, the buzz of celebrating the event and the passion of all those involved was already clear!

Walking through parliament was breathtaking! I was greeted by David Harling, head of Learning Disability at NHS Improvement, who made a special effort to greet each person individually as they entered The Strangers Dining Room where the event was situated. The event was chaired by Jim Blair (independent nurse consultant) and Lloyd Page (expert with lived experience from Mencap) who did an excellent job timing all the speeches!

The event was hosted also by Baroness Sheila Hollins, professor of the psychiatry of learning disability, assisted by her son Nigel. We were told a heart-warming story of how he had met Hugh Grant through his acting and they remain great friends! The day was delivered in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England, Beyond Words and the British Institute of Learning Disabilities.

It was very inspiring to be in a room with all these very important people, and the best thing about this was that everyone was so down to earth! There was many speeches saying thank you to service users who inspired people in the room to do the job they do, and what validated their role, this was so heart-warming. I remember a particular speech from a nurse who said that she always felt a bit different, that she wanted to take alternate approaches with people she cared for, getting to know them well and putting her whole self into their care. She said that when she discovered learning disability nursing this enabled her to be herself and work in this way, this rang true to myself and was so well received throughout the room. Another message I remember especially was to keep doing what we do! To be proud and realise the importance of it. To have so many people in one room that “got it” around learning disability nursing really confirmed its significance, especially at the houses of parliament! There was a special performance from Jen Blackwell from DanceSyndrome also. This was a personal highlight for me, a very emotional performance. If you follow the link below it should take you to a video of the dance. Jen’s family set up DanceSyndrome as Jen loved to dance however main stream dance services did not fit the bill! View it here.

Lastly, thank you so much to Debbie, Mary and Ros for this wonderful opportunity, here’s to
the future of learning disability nursing!

Positive Choices – Dublin 19 – 20 April 2018

Mary Dearing reports:

On 19 and 20 April 2018 a group of nursing students (learning disability) attended the 14^th national ‘Positive Choices’ conference hosted this year by Trinity College Dublin. Second year learning disability nursing student Ed Jones writes:

The sun shone and the Guinness flowed but more importantly Positive Choices/Positive Commitments allowed Registered nurses and student nurses in Learning/Intellectual Disability to meet and share ideas. It was also an opportunity to share experiences with professionals and service users. There were speakers on the effects of ageing with a learning disability, how dementia affects people with learning disabilities, especially those with Down’s syndrome. There was invaluable advice on how to further your career and a pertinent message for those at the start of a new venture came through from many speakers – the need to push yourself out of your comfort zone (but not so much that it becomes detrimental).  We learnt about a nurse’s visit to India. He talked about measures taken to protect vulnerable people with learning disabilities from exploitation, including organ harvesting. We learnt more about mortality reviews – a chance to understand and learn from good and bad practice. We found out more about how best to provide Positive Behavioural Support for clients in distress.

Positive Choices offers the chance to support, meet and learn from our clients, our peers, academics and Registered nurses. It was a pleasant bonus to be in sunny Dublin and we can’t wait to do it all again in Birmingham in 2019!

Opinion piece by Debbie Crickmore

Debbie Crickmore has published:

People who died in long-stay hospitals mattered and live on in my practice in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) journal Learning Disability Practice

Students train with Paralympian medallist Martin Mansell

As a follow up to attending the recent Special Olympics GB National Games in Sheffield - reported here - a group of students completed Sainsbury’s inclusive community training on Friday 18 August 2017 in the University Sports and fitness centre.  We were incredibly fortunate that the facilitator assigned to us was Martin Mansell who won multiple medals swimming for Great Britain in the Paralympic Games, notably gold in Seoul 1988.  Having competed at elite level, his enthusiasm for developing inclusive sport at grass roots level was infectious with year three student Karen Normington commenting:

“… thank you for giving me the opportunity to spend the afternoon in training lead by Martin.  What an inspirational passionate guy he is, certainly left me with lots to think about and not just in a sport capacity.” 

The three-hour practical workshop was supported by an online Module, workbook and was provided by Sainsbury’s in conjunction with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS).  It focused on using the Inclusion Spectrum (open, modified and parallel activities) and STEP, an acronym for Space, Task, Equipment, People.  We also experienced the rigour of sitting volleyball and - the more sedate but competitive - boccia.

For more information please see and/or contact Debbie Crickmore.

Sport teaches us

If you blinked during coverage of the recent World Championships in London, you may well have missed any mention of the concurrent Special Olympics GB National Games in Sheffield.  This movement, founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968 enables athletes with learning (intellectual) disabilities to compete at national and international levels (there are limited events in the more well-known Paralympic Games).

A group from the pre-Registration Learning Disability Nursing Programme within the School of Health and Social Work attended the opening ceremony on Tuesday 8^th August 2017 at Sheffield United’s football stadium Bramall Lane where 2,600 athletes from England, Scotland and Wales took part in the parade, witnessed the arrival of the Flame of hope which had passed through Hull a few days earlier and took their oath:

"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Students Gemma Bellerby, Toni Boyne and Abby Downs write

“This was an incredible experience which allowed us to see the athletes being celebrated prior to attending their events.  Unfortunately due to the torrential rain it did put a slight dampener on the event but everyone made a fantastic contribution and kept up the team spirit.” 

Hayley Sharp and Ed Jones agreed:

"...it was such a shame about the weather but I believe we all still really enjoyed the evebing regardless!"

 “I really enjoyed it. It is great to celebrate the talents of people with learning disabilities.” 

The physical, psychological and social benefits of participation in sport are no secret.  We will complement and consolidate this experience with Sainsbury’s inclusive community training on Friday 18^th August 2017, exploring creative ideas to support disable people to take part in physical activity and sport, learning about practical tools to support inclusive delivery. 

For more information please see this link or this one or contact Debbie Crickmore.