We’ve been shortlisted for the Innovation in Care Practice of the Year Award

Dimensions has been shortlisted for the Innovation in Care Practice of the Year Award in the 2019 Bournemouth Daily Echo Proud to Care Awards; nominated for the support provided through Activate to reduce Zoe’s medication, in line with STOMP.

Activate is the way we support people in Dimensions. It is a person-centred and outcomes-focused model of support, based on ground-breaking research with the University of Kent Tizard Centre which led to 60% decline in challenging behaviour, a 33% increase in the use of Active Support, a 25% increase in the people we support taking part in meaningful activities and an increase in staff satisfaction.

The method involves setting outcomes in the eight domains of support that are key to improving quality of life. We use cutting-edge reporting software called iPlanit to record outcomes and progress. People with learning disabilities or autism face a range of obstacles regarding their health and wellbeing.

In response to this, Dimensions launched a three year health and wellbeing strategy which included initiatives such as #MyGPandMe, Let’s Talk About Poo and STOMP. These initiatives have led to enhanced training provision within the healthcare sector and enabled the people we support to access healthcare in a way that is manageable for them. In Dorset, every person we support who is prescribed psychotropic medication has a STOMP action plan in place. This ensures that their medication is reviewed regularly in line with NICE guidelines and alternatives are considered such as positive behaviour support and active support.

We support Zoe, and one of her key health outcomes was reviewing and reducing her psychotropic medication in line with STOMP. Her team felt that she did not need all of the medication she was on and Zoe shared how much she didn’t like taking her medication and would like to take less. In collaboration with her psychiatrist, community nurse and family we identified the steps needed to achieve her desired outcome of reducing her medication and arranged her first review.

Over the next 6 months Zoe started controlled reduction of her medication until she finally no longer required it. This was achieved in combination with positive behavioural support strategies that saw a notable reduction in incidences of behaviours that challenge.

We facilitated a Health and Wellbeing Roadshow in Bournemouth and invited the people we support, their families, staff and local health professionals to come and hear our initiatives, passion and success in promoting good healthcare. Zoe was invited to come and share her story and with the help of her support worker she spoke with confidence about how taking control of her health had made a difference to her life.

We also shared her story with NHS England and her video is now part of their STOMP campaign and can be found on their NHS website to inspire the wider population. We feel our innovative approach has made an immeasurable difference to the lives of the people we support and our contribution will help to continue to improve healthcare within the sector.