Sharing Pathways to Support in Spain
by Rebecca Robinson, International Collaboration Project Manager
As part of our International Collaborations project, we were delighted to be invited to share our experience of Community-based Social Services – Leading Care in the Community at the European Social Network’s (ESN) seminar in Barcelona, Spain.
Keith Milligan – our Operations Manager – described the ways in which support for people leaving acute psychiatric care continues to evolve and talked about the Wayfinder graded support model, which recognises the need for different levels of support at different times. Keith spoke about Charles, one of the people we support, who successfully graduated as a nurse whilst on his own pathway from being in our 24-hour supported accommodation to his own home.
The ESN organisers wrote that Keith’s presentation was “a key contribution to discussions on the transition to community-based care for people with disabilities”, and a summary of it will be included as part of the ESN’s online library of best practice.
Keith Mulligan at European Social Network Conference Credit: ESN
As well as the opportunity to share and promote our work and best practices, attendance at the seminar allowed us to influence policy development at the European level. In addition, we made invaluable connections with European colleagues and organisations across the social care sector with whom we will foster future conversations to help inform others in their thinking and, likewise, enrich our own practice through learning from them.
The seminar presented contributions from across Europe, including France, Malta, Croatia, Iceland and Slovakia, around the binding theme of deinstitutionalisation – the move from institutional to community-based care for people with disabilities. It was fascinating to get a snapshot of the differing progress of various countries on their journeys to deinstitutionalisation.
Credit: ESN
For example, we heard from Aziz – who had spent most of his childhood in a variety of care homes in Spain – who talked about the importance of opportunities to engage with the outside world beyond the confines of the institution.
Fortunately, in his early teens, Aziz was moved to a care home where, for the first time, the staff encouraged the young people to attend external cultural activities – such as drama, dance, music and art clubs, libraries and cultural events. This not only fired Aziz’s curiosity to learn but also introduced him to a network of people who continued to support and encourage him once he left care. Aziz now uses his own care experience in his role as a social worker, encouraging his young charges to make connections and forge relationships which may likewise create nurturing networks for life.
We also heard the story of Anton, from Slovenia, who, for all his adult life, had lived in institutional care; Anton showed little apparent interest in the world around him and, although he was only middle-aged, had been placed on an ‘end of life’ care plan. Then, as part of Slovenia’s deinstitutionalisation strategy, Anton was moved into his own accommodation, where he received home care support.
Very soon after moving into his own home, Anton’s life transformed – his father said it was the first time in adulthood Anton had been able to actively engage with the outside world and have some autonomy. This transformation extended to every part of Anton’s life, and he is no longer on an end-of-life care plan. Deinstitutionalisation was literally lifesaving.
Credit: ESN
There were also discussions at the seminar about the costs, in every way, of deinstitutionalisation. An economist noted that twenty years ago, she had been tasked with forecasting a predicted decline in the number of care home beds for older people in the UK due to the policy for increased community and home care. The economist said that, at the time, she was sceptical that the predicted decrease in care home bed numbers would be achieved over the twenty-year period.
However, revisiting the research for the ESN seminar, she discovered that the predictions did, in fact, match the current numbers – the predictions had been correct, and what she had thought impossible had, in fact, been achieved. And that sums up the overall message of the seminar – the age-old adage that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way.’
In the context of current aspirational European Union and United Nations guidelines on deinstitutionalisation and associated critiques about the perceived gap between policy and practice, here was evidence that changes in policy can lead to real changes in people’s lives. Opportunities like the ESN seminar help ensure that policies are carefully created through thoughtful dialogue, collaboration and exchange of best practices to help bring about constructive, positive change. We’re grateful to the ESN for the opportunity to join those conversations.
Click here to learn more about Carr Gomm’s International Collaborations project.