This is the Society’s press release in answer to the recent announcement of a Care Agency Learning Disability Review https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/press-releases/learning-disability-review-3792019-4950
Press Release
The Disability Society wishes to congratulate the Care Agency on its multi-disciplinary group review of services available for persons with learning disabilities. The Society has been working with various Government departments for many years trying to bring about improvements. The fact that the Government has now set up a Working Group consisting of Education, Health and Social Care is a welcome step forward. The issue of paediatric health services ceasing at the age of 16 is an issue that has been raised on many occasions by the Disability Society and we welcome the increase in age to 18. We also wish to remind Government that it is not just those with learning disabilities that this problem affects. Children with physical disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy also need continuity of care with regard to therapists and specialists. Growth can affect conditions into the mid-twenties so it is also very important for adult services to be readied to accept those with all kinds of disabilities which unfortunately at present they are not. The Society has also raised on many occasions the necessity of one or two GP’s that specialise in learning disabilities. Continuity of care is vital particularly for those who are non-verbal. The Society is also still waiting for the GHA to introduce a flagging system for those with disabilities something that was raised many months ago.
The Society welcomes the increase in respite for children – another issue we have long been lobbying for. Also welcome is the increase in budget to employ two new social workers – one for children and one for adults. At present every child or adult should have access to a social worker but we do have concerns that an extra one for each service may not be enough.
Although the Society does agree additional resources are welcomed to support adults with learning disabilities or additional needs access meaningful activities, one glaring omission in this whole review is the lack of any mention of supported employment. It must be remembered that there are many children leaving mainstream education who have mild to moderate learning disabilities but who are not eligible to use the services such as St Bernadettes Resource Centre. Finding employment is top of the list for the majority of those and offering “meaningful activities” comes across as slightly patronising.
On the subject of St Bernadettes Resource Centre we are concerned that there is no mention of the necessity to increase the size of the Centre. After all the welcome building of a new St Martin’s school to accommodate the increase in the number of pupils should be an indication of the increase in numbers of those who will be moving up to St Bs. For a number of years the Society has raised the lack of a speech therapist in the Resource Centre and the fact that the only physiotherapist to attend the Centre has been one from paediatric services. So the news that the review highlights the need for certain therapies is welcome indeed.
This central forum for various government departments is an initial step towards what will hopefully be bigger strides for much greater reforms and the Society looks forward to continuing its work with the government to allow all those with disabilities to achieve their full potential.
The Ministry of Equality are holding a disability symposium “Equality means Business”. This seminar is aimed at the private sector and its focus is to promote how inclusion for people with disabilities makes good business sense, the current law on equal opportunities and advise what adaptions can be made to make businesses more inclusive. Unfortunately the seminar does not include the subject of supported employment which is lacking in Gibraltar particularly since the closure of the Government Supported Employment Company Ltd.
