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.