Examples of good practice ways of how support should be delivered to people:

• Services to all of the people should focus on doing things ‘with the person’ to promote and maximise their independence
• The service should be personalised to meet the individual’s needs this means seeing the person and not the label of mental illness or mental health condition, learning disability or dementia but it also means being aware of the way the condition influences the person’s ability to engage with workers and others.
• Individuals should not feel overwhelmed or confused by too much information e.g. they may feel agitated, tired or lose concentration or focus. It is important to look for signs of this
• Continuity of service is important to all but particularly important to people with dementia and learning difficulties, they may need to recognise and get to know the person who is supporting them as well as to learn to trust the person. For people with mental ill health there is a need for levels of trust to be established between different individuals supporting them.
• Time – it is important for people with learning difficulties, dementia and mental ill health not to be rushed or put under pressure by service providers.
• People with learning difficulties/learning disabilities and those with dementia may require assistance with communication. Services should provide information in formats which are accessible to the individual e.g. pictures, non-complex sentences
• People with mental ill health, learning disabilities and dementia are all vulnerable to abuse and may require safeguarding to take place
• People with learning disabilities may need a regular long term service which will need to be reviewed and adjusted if they develop skills over time
• People with mental ill health may have periods when they are well and the service would need to be adaptable and flexible in order to provide the support they need when they need it
• We should never presume that a person’s mental health condition or learning difficulty prevents them from making an informed and independent decision, unless we have a good grounds to substantiate that they are unable to do so and follow the guidance which the law gives on this.
• People with learning disabilities and mental health (including those with dementia) are at high risk of experiencing discrimination it is important for staff to be proactive and prevent it. E.g. when being admitted to hospital for a physical condition they should be given the same treatment that anyone else would expect to receive.
• The families of people with mental ill health, learning disabilities and dementia may need ongoing support and services themselves. E.g. families may be experiencing bereavement as a person no longer recognises them or recalls who they are.

Use to answer question 9.1b of the Care Certificate