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Bedford Borough Adult Learning Disability Team (ALDT)

Who are we?

The Learning Disability Team at Bedford Borough works with adults and young adults (preparing for adulthood) with learning disabilities that have complex health and social care needs. The main principle and objectives of the team are to ensure that care and support needs are met by providing person centred assessment and intervention under the care act 2014.The Adult Learning Disability team is a community based integrated team consisting of social workers, learning disability nurses, community team assistants, carer's support worker and administrative staff.

What do we do?

We provide a specialist service to adults who are 18 years old and over, who have care and support needs that are eligible under The Care Act 2014 and, have a formal learning disabilities diagnosis, living in Bedford Borough.  The team can offer advice and guidance with specialist health care need.

Assessment

Your assessment is about you, and is completed together with the support of a team practitioner.

With your consent, we may also talk to other people who know you, or support you, including your doctor or nurse if you have one.

We will ask questions around the following areas:

  1. Manage food and eat well
  2. Manage personal hygiene
  3. Manage toilet needs
  4. Manage to dress yourself appropriately
  5. Be safe within my home
  6. Maintain my own home
  7. Be able to make friends and other relationships as well as see family
  8. Having a job, going to college or volunteering to work somewhere
  9. Using services in the community
  10. To be able to care for your children

We will endeavour to complete your assessment within 28 days but if your situation is urgent we would complete your assessment a lot sooner. There may be circumstances where this period is extended if we need to gather further information about your medical conditions or your circumstances.

The assessment will be holistic and person centred, and will include an overview of your aspirations as well as health and social care needs.

 

 

The Assessment will be conducted in an open and transparent way in order that you can sufficiently:

  • get a better understanding of your situation;
  • identify options that are available for managing your own life;
  • identify outcomes required from any support that is provided;
  •  Understand the basis on which decisions are made.

If, at the conclusion of the assessment, it is identified that your presenting need is not eligible for care and support from the service, full feedback will be provided along with signposting and advice for next steps in sourcing alternative support networks.

The team have to adhere to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, to empower people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible, and protect people who lack capacity by placing individuals at the very heart of the decision making process. This should ensure full participation as much as possible in any decisions made on your behalf, and that these are made in your best interests.

Your support plan

A personal support plan will be facilitated by the Team to reflect and capture accurately the support needs identified through the assessment process, how services will be personalised and delivered to you. This may, for example, be a direct payment for an individual to manage their own care and support needs, through an agreed and assessed number of hours funded and provided through a direct payment to the individual.

A personal support plan will change and adapt to your needs as the Team recognises an individual’s needs are not static and can change at any time. Therefore all personal plans are subject to regular review, which is a statutory requirement of the Council.

Review

Team practitioners will review individual personal support plans to ensure that the service is providing the appropriate level of support as per your assessed need, and that it is fulfilling your expectations.

The process will evaluate the effectiveness and the quality of the support provided but also to make any necessary adjustments to ensure the plan is person centred and accurately reflects the need and how it will be met.

The review will also ensure the key responsibilities identified in the personal support plan are being fulfilled by those providing support.

Reviews for new services will occur within four weeks, then eight weeks and then after a 12 week period the review will occur once a year, when it is established that the support is appropriate and the need is stable.

With each review that is completed, an updated personal support plan will be completed and shared with you and others with key responsibilities in meeting the need identified through the assessment process.

 

Case Closure

  • When our work has finished we will tell you.
  • We will also tell other people who know you.
  • We will make sure that you know how to contact the team if you need us in the future.

For example:

  • epilepsy
  • mental health
  • complex physical needs
  • challenging behaviour
  • autism
  • Dementia

 

And social care needs such as:

  • Direct Payments and personal budgets
  • Preparing for adulthood ( Transitions)
  • Day opportunities (college, vocational courses)
  • Employment opportunities
  • Accommodation
  • Help to live at home/improve independence
  • Respite Care
  • Carer's assessment
  • Social inclusion

Who to contact

Telephone
E-mail
Learning.disability@bedford.gov.uk

Where to go

Address
Borough Hall
Cauldwell Street
Bedford
Postcode
MK42 9AP
Get directions

Time / Date Details

When is it on
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 5pm Friday: 9am to 4pm
Time of day
Morning
Afternoon

Other Details

Availability

Referral required
Yes
Referral Details

Referrals to the team can be made by people who have a learning disability, their carers’ other people who may be supporting you with your consent.
You will then be given a named Keyworker. The Keyworker who supports you could be a social worker, a community nurse or a community team assistant.

Age Bands
18-25 years old
Parents and carers