By Lisa Richardson, ARC KSS Co-production Research Associate and KSSLDCoP Steering Group Member, University of Kent
The annual Kent, Surrey and Sussex Learning Disability Community of Practice (KSSLDCoP) conference took place on Wednesday 5 December 2024 at the Canterbury Christchurch University campus in Medway.
The aim of the event was to share research and best practice to aid the health and social care workforce in supporting people with learning disabilities.
Supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS), the conference was well attended by health and care professionals from across the region, along with people with learning disabilities and their families.
There was a warm welcome from Chris Holland, the Founding Dean of Kent and Medway Medical School, followed by a presentation by Marina Russ, KSSLDCoP Steering Group Chair, on the history of the community and its aims to support people with learning disabilities to live healthy safe and fulfilled lives.
Other speakers at the event included:
- Steering group member, Daisy Hack, who shared details of a regional Learning Disability Nursing workforce development agenda.
- Former GP, Naveed Iqbal from Tritone Health who presented the MEDii Health Application, for allowing better co-ordination and monitoring of care for people with learning disabilities using mobile devices.
- Members of the Bemix Be A Leader Team - who lead on delivering the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training to health and care professionals in Kent and Medway - shared a call for people to apply for roles as trainers and leaders. And I, Lisa Richardson, from the University of Kent, presented the findings from an evaluation I carried out of a leadership training course for people with learning disabilities (funded by ARC KSS).
Fortified by a delicious lunch and a hang out café by Achieve Together - a leading care provider in supporting adults with learning disabilities, autism and associated complex needs - it was great to see how people with severe and profound learning disabilities engaged in the conference.
In the afternoon, there were keynote speeches from:
- Ciara Lawrence of Mencap and the Pink sparkle podcast who reminded us of what is possible if we have a 'can and will do attitude to supporting people with learning disabilities to lead a life they choose'.
- Marie Hackshall, System Lead for Learning Disability, Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, shared the consultation work that is ongoing across the region to develop a strategic plan for health and care of people with learning disabilities. She allowed time for the audience to have their say about what was working and what needed to improve. There are further opportunities to engage in the consultation process into 2025.
Alongside the keynote speakers, there were two concurrent sessions where more than 12 practitioners, researchers and people with learning disabilities were able to share their work and initiatives with the audience. All sessions were expertly co-chaired by people with learning disabilities from the LOUD (Learning Observing Understanding Disability) group at Canterbury Christchurch University.
During the conference, the audience were asked to make pledges on what they will do, over the next year, to make sure that people with learning disabilities lead healthy, safe and fulfilled lives.
We hope to share more about the pledges and the conference day in a blog early next year.
