Transforming Care Experiences of Support Workers and Managers

• What research question is being addressed? What is the experience of support workers, and managers, supporting people with learning disabilities who have moved from inpatient to community settings as part of the Transforming Care Agenda.
• How is it of relevance and importance to patients and public? In 2011 serious abuse of people with learning disabilities was uncovered at Winterbourne View, an independent hospital for people with learning disabilities. The Transforming Care Agenda was set out by the UK government in 2012 in response to this abuse. A key part of the action plan included moving people with learning disabilities out of inappropriate hospital settings, into the community.

Support workers and managers are key mediators in approaches to ensure that people with learning disabilities are able to achieve a good quality of life in the community, however so far there is limited research looking into their experiences.

• Broadly what area (disease, therapy or service) is being studied? For therapeutic studies what is the drug, device or procedure being tested? The area being studied is support for people with learning disabilities who have moved from inpatient settings to community settings.
• Who would be eligible? Support workers and managers who have worked with people with learning disabilities who have moved from inpatient to community settings within the past three years will be eligible to be interviewed as part of this study. 4 to 6 support workers, and 4 to 6 managers will be interviewed in total.
• The type of sites where the study will be conducted Participants (support workers and managers) will be recruited through NHS sites (community learning disability teams) who have identified individuals with learning disabilities who have moved from hospital to community settings (as part of the Transforming Care Agenda) within the past 3 years.
• How long will the study last and what will the participants undergo? The study will last approximately 1.5 years. If they consent, participants will be invited to take part in an interview, lasting up to one hour. The interview will focus on their experience of supporting someone with a learning disability who has moved from a hospital setting, into a community setting, within the past three years.