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You are here: Home / Archives for News / OxFSN Articles

New Adults Short Breaks Service

July 21, 2024 By OxFSN Webmaster

Adults with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire have helped to redesign a service that will offer them more choice and flexibility around their short break options.

The adult learning disability short break programme has been developed hand in hand with people who draw on the service, as well as their families and carers, through a process called coproduction. It will offer traditional building-based stays as well as more flexible community-based solutions.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “Caring for loved ones can be extremely rewarding but it can also be tiring work. Short breaks is an important service commissioned by the council, offering adults with learning disabilities some additional support in a different environment while giving carers the chance to rest and recharge.

“By working with people who draw on the service, we’ve heard that our traditional building-based option isn’t right for everyone. That’s why we’ve introduced a more flexible, hybrid system, giving people the opportunity to choose what’s right for them”.

With the support of organisations including My Life, My Choice and Oxfordshire Family Support Network, the adults’ short breaks service has been completely redesigned, helping to put people with learning disabilities in control of their support options.

Building-based stays will still be available and by reducing the number of properties from four to three, the council can increase the outreach offer and flexibility of the service to more individuals. There will be refurbishments made to the three facilities, where the decisions around the future improvements, including the design and décor, will be made with the adults who use the service.

Running alongside this, a new option will be available offering support in line with the council’s Oxfordshire Way vision to support more people to live well and independently within their own communities.

By listening to the people and carers who use the short breaks service, the council has committed to further strengthening the relationships people have found closer to home, giving people access to services which provide the greatest value to them. This includes daytime and outreach support which can be delivered at home or in the community.

Gail Hanrahan, Programme Manager at Oxfordshire Family Support Network, said: “We are pleased to have been part of coproducing and codesigning the adult short breaks service, which we hope will offer greater choice and flexibility for the families we support and their loved ones.”

Oxfordshire County Council will begin the refurbishment of the building-based services shortly, with a view to having all the improvements made by spring 2025. Due to a reduction in the number of people using building-based stays, it will be possible to continue running this service from the additional buildings while the refurbishments are taking place.

The council will begin the process of inviting organisations to bid to provide the new services, with the contract due to start in April 2025. The current service will continue unchanged until that point.

Filed Under: News, OxFSN Articles

Challenging Financial Assessment Contribution Charging Policy

June 27, 2023 By OxFSN Webmaster

If you support someone who has had a financial assessment and has been assessed as needing to contribute towards the cost of their care then we would like to hear from you.  We would like to challenge OCC’s Care Contribution Policy and ask them to be more transparent about how the process works.  

We know from the families who get in contact that many feel that financial assessments are unfair and that it is difficult to evidence disability related expenses above the allocated 35%.  

To help support our challenge, we would like to submit some anonymised case studies to show the wide range of issues that families are dealing with. Personalised stories are much more meaningful and it is important that the Local Authority and Councillors understand the impact and stress that many carers are under as they navigate their way through what is a very unclear process.

We have created a template for you to complete in order to capture the key information about care contributions for person you support.

Closing date for completing this form is FRIDAY 14th JULY.

OxFSN will then send a letter along with the case studies asking for OCC to address our concerns.
To complete the form please click on the above image or the link below.  

All case studies will be anonymised so there will be no connection to the person completing the form. We will not change any of the information you provide so feel free to avoid using pronouns if that helps.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VWP_b6HbQRAWF0Xqc85l1eRwVG35LpuOEK0321kx5-o/edithttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VWP_b6HbQRAWF0Xqc85l1eRwVG35LpuOEK0321kx5-o/edit

Filed Under: News, OxFSN Articles

The Moving Into Adulthood Handbook

November 16, 2022 By OxFSN Webmaster

The Moving Into Adulthood Handbook

This handbook is primarily for family carers of a young person with a learning disability and/or autism and professionals who are going through or supporting someone from the ages of 14 – 25 (with an EHCP) through the Moving into Adulthood stage.…and even if the person you support is younger …or older, you may still find some of the chapters helpful.

Each chapter focuses on a different area and gives an overview of what you need to know as you and your family member navigate your way through the Moving Into Adulthood stage including further resources that you may find helpful. 

The Handbook is designed to be a dip in and out resource – we wouldn’t recommend reading it all at once but we hope you will find it informative and useful.And please do get in touch if you have any suggestions, or a link doesn’t work, or we’ve missed something you think should be included. It has been checked but things change and we know, even we can get things wrong.
You can find out more information about the contents of the chapters and how to download them at this dedicated webpage by clicking on the image below:
Moving into Adulthood Handbook
https://movingintoadulthood.oxfsn.org.uk

Filed Under: News, OxFSN Articles, Publications, Resources

OxFSN Q & A on Supported Living: What do you need to know?

November 29, 2021 By OxFSN Webmaster

An overview of Supported Living in Oxfordshire and what families need to think about when planning ahead from Oxfordshire County Council, Support Providers and Family carers for people with Learning Disabilities.  

See the video recording of the OxFSN Q&A here on this page or on our OxFSN Youtube Video Channel:

To read the transcript of the recording see the PDF document:   OxFSN Support Living Q & A 

Filed Under: Media, News Archive, OxFSN Articles, Publications, Resources

Digitising Care: Personalised solutions for people with learning disabilities

November 17, 2020 By OxFSN Webmaster

How using digital tools and solutions affects personalised care for people with learning disabilities

OxFSN joined forces with Learning Disability England and Brighton and Hove Speak Up to help NHS England understand how using digital solutions (eg online meetings and appointments with medical professionals) will affect the care people with learning disabilities get. The Personalised Care Group at NHS England wanted to know how digital tools and solutions for personalised care can be inclusive and meet the accessibility requirements of people with learning disabilities.

At OxFSN we know as family carers that our family members whether children or adults need support – usually ours as parents – to get medical help.  Any changes in how that happened will affect our lives as family carers – for better or worse.

Three reports are available here:

  1. OxFSN – with family carers views
  2. Brighton and Hove Speak Up – with the views of people with learning disabilities
  3. Learning Disability England’s final report which included everyone’s views and was presented to the Personalised Care Group

Filed Under: News Archive, OxFSN Articles, Publications

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Featured Articles

New Adults Short Breaks Service

July 21, 2024 By OxFSN Webmaster

Adults with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire … [Read More...]

Challenging Financial Assessment Contribution Charging Policy

June 27, 2023 By OxFSN Webmaster

If you support someone who has had a financial … [Read More...]

The Moving Into Adulthood Handbook

November 16, 2022 By OxFSN Webmaster

The Moving Into Adulthood HandbookThis handbook is … [Read More...]

OxFSN Q & A on Supported Living: What do you need to know?

November 29, 2021 By OxFSN Webmaster

An overview of Supported Living in Oxfordshire and … [Read More...]

Resources

OxFSN Supported Living Event – 20/June/2024 – Presentation

Care Act 2014 – Top Tips for Family Carers

What is an Integrated Care Board?

The Moving Into Adulthood Handbook

Questions for family carers to ask support providers

Adult Social Care Act Needs Assessment

Family Investment in Supported Housing

OxFSN Supported Living Q & A

Learning Disability and or Autism Crisis Care Plan

OxFSN Supported Living Checklist

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Care Act 2014 – Top Tips for Family Carers

What is an Integrated Care Board?

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Questions for family carers to ask support providers

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