Stepping Out

Stepping Out Blog

Stepping Out Can Help Young People Leaving Care

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Young people leaving care can often go through a stage of vulnerability, whee their surrounding seem uncertain. as an adolescent, these obstacles come at a time when stability s needed. Leaving a care environment and attempting to undertake full independence immediately can be extremely difficult. Especially those who are 16-18 years of age who possibly suffer from mental health issues.

Stepping Out aim to bridge the gap between care and independence by providing a stable, homely, semi-independent living accommodation. Service users are given support in areas such as;

  • Household maintenance & cleaning
  • Personal hygiene
  • Money management and budgeting
  • Arranging and attending health appointments
  • Career exploration
  • Accessing community resources & facilities
  • As well as all other problem areas

We also provide support for service users in all other aspects of their life and development towards independence. This is offered via our 24-hour on site staff, who are always on hand to handle incidents and provide guidance when needed.

For more information on our semi-independent services, call Stepping Out on 020 342 7217

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Extra Money to Assist Those Leaving Hospital

By admin_ka No CommentsPosted in Blog

The Department of Health is making an extra £150 million available to local authorities in order to aid people to leave hospital more quickly and receive care at home in order to recover.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced:

“Savings have been made in the Department of Health’s budget which we are investing to help people leave hospital as quickly as they can, when they are ready, and to receive support at home.”

“This additional investment for health and care services is the result of determination to deliver savings, maintain quality and invest in services that matter to patients, families and carers during the critical winter season.”

“Older people often need particular support after a spell in hospital to settle back into their homes, recover their strength and regain their independence. This extra money will enable the NHS and social care to work better together for the benefit of patients.”

The extra £150 million funding is an addition to the £648 million allocated to Primary Care Teamss this financial year to support social care services across England. This is already helping to maintain crucial preventative services like ‘reablement’, which gives people who are leaving hospital support for up to six weeks.

It seems the Department of Health favours home care or domiciliary care over standard hospital treatment. Perhaps the initial investment will save costs in the long running terms of NHS spending. What are your views?

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Tablet PCs, Apps & Autism

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A Tablet PC, running applications or ‘Apps’, has revolutionised Veronica’s life.

Veronica is six years old and severely affected by Autism. She has severe learning difficulties and finds most social situations very difficult. She lost all her speech three years ago. But in common with many other children like her, touchscreen computers have provided a way of learning and communicating that plays to her strengths.

“She has gone from being a little girl who had no way of showing us how much she knew, to a little girl who now has a portable device she can laugh, play and engage with,” says her mother Sam Rospigliosi, from Edinburgh.

“Who knows, she might even use it as her voice in the years ahead if she never learns how to speak again.”

Richard Mills, head of research at ‘Research Autism’ and the National Autistic Society, says the technology is an opportunity to take, “A huge step forward in our understanding of Autism…”

“They allow us to have an insight into how children with Autism think. People with Autism have a different kind of intelligence. Their visual memory is strong, so PCs are highly motivating.”

Apps such as puzzles ad response-based games have captured Veronica’s visual based mind. She has taken to the iPad App called, called ‘FindMe’. It is aimed at non-verbal children from the age of 18 months upwards, and encourages players to focus on other people and their needs, something people with Autism find difficult to comprehend in real life situations.

Could the Tablet PC be more than just big news for the consumer electronics industry? How can we implement such technology into everyday care & support? Share your views below.

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Social Care News: Care Costs & Government Reforms

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This morning, experts a revealed that individuals will still face significant social care costs even if politicians reach agreement on reform.

“Social care is not free now and it won’t be in the future. What we need is for people to start thinking about care costs” – Peter Hay Association of Directors of Adult Social Services

Industry leaders have made it clear that governent’s ‘Social Care Cost Cap’ of £35,000 per year may be wide of the mark, and may not cover all the needs of the client.

So, even with the prospect of political consensus in sight, the British public will still have to shoulder a large chunk of the costs.

Richard Humphries, of the King’s Fund think-tank, said he believed the final cap might have to be greater than the £35,000 figure outlined by the government-commissioned review last summer by the economist Andrew Dilnot.

“My feeling is that in the current climate it may have to be a bit higher to be affordable [for government].”

He added that on top of that, those who ended up in residential care would still be liable for the non-care element – known as the “hotel costs” – which were likely to be between £7,000 and £9,000 a year.

It would appear that the ‘cost cap’ is accompanied by hidden costs and missing services which are vital to the well being of those who are in desperate need of care and support.

Share your views by commenting below.

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