Today the Members reps sent a letter to all Learning Disability England members.
The letter is about Sally Lewis and the inquest into her death.
Sally died because the people supporting her did not get her care right.
Sally was supported by Dimensions.
Because of the mistakes they made Sally died from constipation.
The inquest found that she died partly because of neglect – this means that the people supporting her did not do their job.
You can read the full letter we sent here.
The reps say:
We are deeply saddened by the avoidable death of Sally Lewis and the extra trauma her family had to go through in trying to get openness on what happened.
As Jack said ‘I can hardly think about how it must have been for Sally’.
Staff must understand the health risks people face.
Staff training on health risks is important but also as Scott said ‘treat us as people like anyone else not aliens’.
It is the right thing for all services to be open and honest if anything goes wrong.
This is even more important if someone dies. Families must be treated with kindness and respect.
It is wrong that families of someone has died has to fund legal support at an inquest.
It is time for a fair system that puts people and families first and makes sure that justice is open to all.
Representatives of support provider organisations are also members of Learning Disability England; we sit alongside people and families and agree with this statement wholeheartedly.
We are talking with Dimensions too about how they talked with Julie’s family and how that lives up to the shared values all members are asked to work to or show in action.
We will continue the work for justice and equality.
We want to join up with others who are looking for ways to fund legal representation and more justice for people.
We believe talking together helps us find answers and support.
‘Having these conversations together can prevent these sorts of things from happening again’ – Kumudu Perera, Self-advocate Rep
If any members want to join some people with learning disability and family reps to talk about how they feel and action we might take together, join us on 15th June at 2pm online.
Find out more here
The paid supporter reps invite our provider representative members to join them on 19th June
Find out more here