Message from Debbie Neill to staff re: BBC Panorama
23/05/2019
Dear colleagues,
Anyone who saw Panorama last night or watches it on catch-up will I am sure be as horrified as I was by the behaviour of the staff in it. The sheer cruelty and lack of respect for people with a learning disability and/or autism is very difficult to watch and the type of thing I hoped I would never see again after the abuses highlighted in Winterbourne View by Panorama in 2011. I wholeheartedly support the calls for Government to step in, set a clear deadline and put funding in place to move as many of the remaining 2,300 people out of institutional care once and for all. For a wider perspective on the issues raised I would suggest you read the statement Julie Layton has shared on social media, our website and intranet this morning.
My hope is that the behaviour of these few individuals doesn't colour the view of the great work and great people who work in the social care sector. I am incredibly proud of the work that we do, the quality of the services we provide and the outcomes we achieve for our customers.
As we saw the professionals interviewed in the programme people with complex needs and those who exhibit behaviours that are challenging need specific support and focus to ensure they can live their lives to the fullest. We have a dedicated behavioral support team led by Michelle O'Neill, with many years of experience and training from the Tizard Centre and the Institute of Applied Behaviour Analysis. They get amazing results for our customers made possible by working to tried and tested methods and techniques and making sure staff have the skills and confidence to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
I am as confident as I have ever been that we have done as much, if not more, than most organisations like ours to ensure we set the right culture in our services. This includes:
- Clear values – working in Partnership with others, showing Respect for our customers.
- Recruiting to those values and involving customers in the recruitment process for all roles where possible
- Trusting staff to live our values and making sure we recognise great performance against those values in our PRIDE awards – living the values was the highest scoring area of our recent Investors in People Silver award
- Strong and visible leadership with regular visits to services from Board members, GMT, Area Managers and others.
- A robust internal audit process – which takes into account the views of customers, family members and others
- A pilot programme where Support customers are trained to visit and seek feedback and views from other customers
- Two customers Chairing the Advance Collective who are happy to be contacted by customers with any concern about their care
- Clear policies and procedures which have at their heart the person we support and their right to dignity and respect and a person centred approach
- CQC inspections of registered services – and we are doing well with more `Good' ratings than ever and an eye on achieving our first Outstanding
- An independently Chaired Safeguarding Panel which meets to discuss standards of performance and review any cases where we don't meet the highest standards
For me the best tool we have is our own eyes and ears. Every one of us. I would encourage anyone who sees or hears something which doesn't 'feel right' about the support a customer receives to speak up. This goes as much for Housing colleagues who see the support received by tenants from our service or other Support agencies. Concerns can be raised about the support, property or any inappropriate behaviour or abuse (e.g. physical, sexual, and emotional), fraud, misuse or embezzlement of funds.
Normally, the first port of call is to raise a concern by contacting your line manager, their line manager or myself as Director of Support. If you wish to report something anonymously you can contact Advance's `I'm not proud' number on 01993 866 481 to leave a message with a senior member of HR, so that they can investigate and resolve the issue.
If you are not confident that these routes will deal with your concern or you have already raised concerns and found that it hasn't been dealt with properly or to your satisfaction please follow our Whistleblowing policy and procedure. You can do this by contacting in confidence a member of the Whistleblowing Panel (names and contact details in the related document on this page) who will respect your wishes around anonymity as set out in the policy. The Whistleblowing policy and the Panel members can be found under the Policies tab on the intranet. If you wish to go further any member of staff has the right to raise concerns outside the organisation, guidance on how to do this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing/overview
I totally understand family concerns and the need for reassurance. Just this week I was at a meeting with a family of a prospective customer who wanted CCTV in every room monitored 24/7 – I totally understand the anxiety and need for that assurance – but we have to balance it with trust in our people. If you receive any questions from families or customers do point out measures we have in place and all the routes available to them to raise any concern they might have – much of which is available in the customer pack or website.
I do sincerely hope the Panorama programme leads to real and lasting change. As a Trustee at Learning Disability England I will be supporting them in their call for real action, not more reports and reviews. At Advance, I am incredibly proud of the work we do and the people we have supported through transforming care partnerships. We get great results and I am incredibly proud to be in the social care sector leading teams who are committed to delivering the best possible care for our customers.
Debbie Neil
Director of Support