Hello everyone,
I’m Ben McCay, and I’d like to share some insights about the house visits that Jay and I have been conducting. These visits are a crucial part of our efforts to ensure that the people we support lead fulfilling lives, live in environments that are warm, supportive, and kind, and that they receive the highest quality of support. Monitoring the support of people is a key part of my role and whilst we can speak to people through our Being Heard coffee mornings, home visits are crucial for us to properly understand the environment people are living in as well as ensuring they feel safe within their homes to feel comfortable enough to talk to us.
Our house visits are more than just routine checks; they are an opportunity to build trust and confidence among the individuals we support. Most of the people we have visited so far have been nonverbal, which makes it essential for us to check the environment and speak with the Managers and support staff. This helps us understand their needs and ensure that they are being met. My Executive Assistant, Jay, commented on the need for these visits:
One thing these help us to make sure of is that people are receiving person centred support which is catering for the individuals needs. Some of the people we support live in homes that are shared with other people we support. We want to make sure that the support is still meeting each individual’s needs and the person is doing things individually as well as together with the person they are sharing their home. We always look to ensure that people are treated and supported as individuals to live the lives they wish to lead.
Our visits on this occasion have covered Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. We look at the activity plans of the people we support to ensure they are engaging in activities both inside and outside the house. We noticed there were engaging in helping staff prepare food as well such as going to the local discos and being out and about in their local community. We have worked closely with our trustee Adrian to organise a visit to a local nature spot called Bradgate Park, which aims to provide an opportunity for the people we support to enjoy the countryside.
We conduct these visits to help improve people’s support. I am extremely proud to say we have found very little that requires changing. One such instance was someone whose wheelchair was very outdated, but we were thrilled to discover his support staff team already working closely with the family to fix this. We also found out there was a gentleman we support who has been attending a day centre and we have discovered that he does not want to attend this and always returned home in a bad mood. Support staff have been working closely with the family and the financial appointees to manage their money so that they can purchase a mobility car and plan his own outings instead of attending the day centre.
Conducting these visits has been very satisfying. I am able to see the consistent person-centred support that The Camden Society provides and the impact that we have on peoples lives. Of course, there are challenges. We support a number of nonverbal individuals which means that they communicate with us using different methods, and we must be aware of potential triggers of when we visit the people we support because we do not want to cause unnecessary distress to the individual. However, having our exceptional operational staff on hand who know the individuals well, helps us to manage these visits effectively.
Looking ahead, we have more house visits and events planned, including visits to Hertfordshire, Oxford City, Banbury, Witney, Abingdon, and Didcot. We also have regular being heard events in Oxford City and a planned summer event in Witney. Working together with our staff teams who have a good understanding of the individuals’ history are key to making these visits successful.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our house visits. We are committed to ensuring that the people we support lead fulfilling lives and have the best possible care.
Find out about how The Camden Society could support you or your loved one here