Description
Learning Disability Today and Kingston University are delighted to host a one-day conference looking at how we can positively influence change to improve the lives of people with a learning disability, their families and those who support them.
This conference is an excellent way for professionals working in the field of learning disability and/or autism to hear about new practices, enhance their professional development and network with an all-inclusive learning disability community.
It is common knowledge that people with a learning disability experience high levels of health inequality. Research has shown that, compared with the general population, people with a learning disability are three to four times as likely to die from an avoidable medical cause. Most of the avoidable deaths were because timely and effective treatment was not given.
This conference will look at how we can overcome barriers to accessing healthcare with the aim of reducing health inequalities and by putting people with a learning disability at the heart of their care.
It will also discuss the current workforce crisis. The growing shortage of learning disabilities nurses and care workers means people with a learning disability face inadequate support, limited access to healthcare services, delays in diagnosis, and suboptimal care provision. This conference will debate who we need to recruit to the sector and how.
Another important theme is how we begin to shift away from crisis management to community support. This has been the ambition of numerous policy changes in the past 20 years, which have promised much and delivered little. In this conference, we will ask where we go next and how can we finally put talk into action.
Agenda
Time: Session
09.30 Registration and coffee
10.00 Chair’s welcome: Jim Blair, Independent Consultant Nurse Learning Disabilities, Associate Professor Intellectual (Learning) Disabilities at Kingston University and St Georges’ University of London
Opening address
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10: 30: Shifting away from crisis management: translating promises into action
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11.00 Preventing the preventable deaths
11.30: Coffee break
11.45: Breakout session 1 (see choices below)
12.30: Lunch
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13.30 Growing older and planning ahead
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14.00: Developing new approaches to the workforce: attracting the right people with the right skills
14.30: Breakout session 2
15.00: Coffee break
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15.15 Panel debate: Putting policy into practice: the action we need
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16.00: Chair’s closing comments
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Breakout session choices
Session one: Workforce crisis – who do we recruit and how?
Session two: Preventing the preventable deaths and healthcare inequality
Session three: Shifting away from crisis management to community support – Putting people at the heart of their care
Event Details
There are a limited number of free tickets for people with learning disabilities and their unpaid carers. Please email [email protected] to request free tickets.
Date: 12 September, 2024
Start time: 09:30
End time: 16:00
Venue: Kingston Hill, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7LB
Phone: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
