Care Provider Appoints Behaviour Support Quality Development Advisor and Staff to Think Again About Their Management of Challenging Behaviour

  • Lisa Berwick
 

Helping service users to live more comfortably with challenging behaviour has been put right at the top of the agenda with the appointment this month of Lisa Berwick as Craegmoor’s new Behaviour Support Quality Development Advisor.

24 June 2009

“Continuously evaluating practices and striving to innovate” says Craegmoor

Helping service users to live more comfortably with challenging behaviour has been put right at the top of the agenda with the appointment this month of Lisa Berwick as Craegmoor’s new Behaviour Support Quality Development Advisor. Lisa will play a key role in:

1. Researching new initiatives and treatments for Craegmoor

2. Developing best practice tools in line with Government guidelines

3. Consulting with academic and advocate agencies

4. Engaging and consulting with Craegmoor’s service users and staff

In addition, Craegmoor Healthcare, the leading provider of specialist support to people with learning disabilities, mental health illnesses and other needs, has instructed staff at two of its services to re-consider their existing approach to managing challenging behaviour and trial a new ‘low arousal’ approach that encourages staff to distract and help service users refocus, whilst also considering the inadvertent impact of their own behaviour and practices.

This new approach is being trialed at Craegmoor’s Charnwood Lodge and The Gables, with training provided by ‘The Studio III Group’ and comes as a result of Craegmoor’s ongoing desire to respond to the needs of service users and provide staff with ample opportunities to develop their skills in supporting challenging behaviour.

As a result of the training, Craegmoor hopes to see reduced incidents of physical intervention, with staff instead using the ‘natural movement’ of their body to diffuse situations and address people who are distressed in a positive way. Staff will also be encouraged to consider why service users behave in a challenging way and reflect on how their own behaviour may inadvertently provoke negative reactions from service users.

Lisa Berwick, Craegmoor’s Quality Development Advisor - Behaviour Support, said today:

“ I am really excited to be joining such a dynamic and innovative Craegmoor team and one that not only listens to service users but engages with them and responds accordingly. Over the coming months, I want to help and support staff at our services to further understand the causes of challenging behaviour and how best to manage it. As a result, I hope to see further improved outcomes for service users .”

Ted Smith, Craegmoor’s Chief Executive Officer, said today:

“ Craegmoor is never dogmatic in its approach to the treatment and care of people, rather we continuously strive to be innovative and trial new methods. The current trial of ‘The Studio III Project’ at two of our services is a testament to our commitment to innovation and over the next year we hope to announce further trials that will promote the best outcomes for service users .”

Notes for Editors

For further information please contact the Craegmoor Press Office on: 01905 459 813

  • Craegmoor is one of the leading independent providers of specialist support in the UK with a turnover of approximately £170m and employs over 6,500 people.
  • It has a portfolio comprising specialist and nursing residential support, mental health hospitals, specialist adult colleges and supported living schemes with over 4,700 beds across 234 homes.
  • The wide range of services offered by Craegmoor include: Specialist support for adults with learning disabilities and mental health illnesses, Nursing and residential support for older people and Independent Hospitals
  • Craegmoor has 2,229 Specialist beds including 143 beds in three colleges.
  • Craegmoor has currently 2,242 Older People beds and 237 beds in the company’s Independent Hospitals.
  • Working closely with local authorities, Primary Care Trusts and NHS Trusts, Craegmoor is committed to building partnerships focused on constant service improvements which meet the needs of individual people and which are in line with regulatory requirements and best practice.