This bleak winter will not last forever! As Spring edges ever closer, we look to our outdoor spaces and reflect on the many benefits they bring as well as the importance of making them accessible to all. There have been many studies that highlight the many benefits of accessible gardening. This means that a garden, and gardening, is designed in such a way as to not form barriers to those with a wish to garden or to touch and enjoy the many sensory delights that a garden can yield. Our homes each have large and varied gardens: Apple House has one hundred …
“You are not defined by a learning disability, you have many wonderful abilities! Let’s celebrate them!” –– Jane Montrose, Managing Director, Apple House Ltd Studies have shown that people with learning disabilities feel more accepted and valued in their communities than ever before. For many, transformation has come through friendships, through being more independent and from having a voice and from the termination of institutionalised lives where they were stripped of the essence of individuality. Small homes such as ours, located within residential communities, mean that those whom we support are living as part those communities. We foster an ethos of neighbourliness, …
The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2015/16 looks at the trends, highlights examples of good and outstanding care, and identifies factors that maintain high-quality care. It was written by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) through their findings between Spring 2015 and Summer 2016. The report summarises that most services they inspect give ‘good’ care to the people they support even though they may now been doing this with less money to pay for it. It also states that adult care services have been able to maintain quality but that there is concern over the sustainability …
CCTV Monitoring Systems Over the recent months we have been gathering information and consulting with our staff and residents regarding the use of CCTV in and around our services. The reason for this and our primary aim is to protect and safeguard the people who live, work and visit our services. We aim to install CCTV systems in all of our homes over the next 12 months. The system of recording is public and unconcealed, the cameras will be on display. There will not be any introduction of covert CCTV. As with any monitoring system that may be new and …
