nternational disability equality and human rights activist Paula McGowan OBE has praised a new £1.2million service that’s opened in Greater Manchester today.
Radcliffe Place is for people aged 16 to 25 with a learning disability (some may also have autism) to help them avoid hospital when they’re experiencing a crisis. Run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, it’s thought to be the first of its kind in the country for this age group.
It provides people with care and therapy for up to 12 weeks, to keep them safe, enable recovery, dramatically improve their quality of life, and provide greater support to families and carers.
The new unit will also help to keep people closer to home and help ensure public money is spent in the best way, by providing the right support at the right time.
Radcliffe Place has four beds, with potential to grow. Small patient numbers are vital, as patients will receive highly intensive care and therapy during their stay.
Paula McGowan OBE founded Oliver’s Campaign, following the untimely death of her son who was an autistic teenager and had a mild learning disability.
Her mission is to ensure all health and social care staff receive appropriate and meaningful training to help them to understand people who have a learning disability and autistic people.
She said: “Like everyone else, people with a learning disability and autistic people deserve to receive the very best care that’s right for their needs. I was really pleased to hear from the Radcliffe Place team, as this new service really resonates with my mission to improve care and keep people who have a learning disability and autistic people out of hospital. The team’s shared passion is clear from the phenomenal amount of research and hard work they’ve dedicated to developing Radcliffe Place.
“More services like this are desperately needed and I’ll be cheering them on every step of the way. I’m hoping my schedule will allow me to visit Radcliffe Place when I visit the UK in summer. It’ll be lovely to meet the team and see first-hand the huge difference they’re making to people’s lives.”
Stephen Paul Ellis, 33 from south Manchester, is a peer support worker and former service user. He said: “I spent nine years in hospital and didn’t need to be there. So I’m a passionate advocate for early support and keeping people out of hospital. I have every faith that Pennine Care will deliver the right care. I’m hoping to join the team as a peer support worker in the future.”
Dr Dipti Patil, clinical director for the learning disability care hub and interim network associate medical director-south, said: “Radcliffe Place was born from a research study we undertook a few years ago, after noticing a worrying pattern in the care history of many adult clients.
“We were struck by the large number of hospital admissions, many of which we felt could have been avoided if their needs had been met much earlier.
“For most people, hospital is not the best place. It can often lead to trauma, damage relationships with professionals and negatively impact their whole life. People shouldn’t be detained because of their reaction to a situation, and we wanted to change things for the better.”
Dr Rohan Morris, principal clinical psychologist and clinical lead for Radcliffe Place, added: “We analysed data from our clients at risk of a hospital admission and found providing access to short period of respite reduced the odds.
“Fast forward five years, I can’t quite believe we’re opening and able to put our research findings into practice for the benefit of the people we serve.
“It wouldn’t be possible without tireless hard work and dogged determination from the whole Radcliffe Place team, vital insight from those with lived experience and support from our many external partners. It’s been a true partnership approach and ticks all of our four big ambitions.
“We feel privileged to be working in such an amazing facility and can’t wait to start making a positive difference so people can live a life they find fulfilling.”
To find out more about Radcliffe Place, people can visit www.penninecare.nhs.uk/radcliffe-place
