Returning Home

Author: Simon Duffy

The Beyond Limits Pilot is an important innovation in commissioning practice. In order to help people with complex needs return from institutional placements to their local communities the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW CDG) are developing a brand new independent service provider to offer personalised support.

In this report Dr Simon Duffy explores the background to this work. The report underlines the need for a radical change in how services for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems are organised. People in institutional care are consistently suffering abuse by services that don't meet their real needs. The community care system is failing to provide support to families and any problems can quickly lead to crisis-driven institutionalisation. People's lives are being wasted in segregated services far from home - and at great expense.

It is vital that other local areas follow the lead of those in Plymouth who are helping people to return home and developing the capacity to keep people safe and active as citizens in their own communities. This approach seems capable of improving outcomes, growing local capacity and increasing efficiency.

This report describes current problems, the local strategy and some of the early successes.

Read and download the free pdf in your browser here.

UPDATE: The second report has now been published, read Getting There now.

The publisher is the Centre for Welfare Reform.

Returning Home © Simon Duffy 2013.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.