Live your best life - South Ayrshire launches it's new Adult Learning Disability Strategy

More than 100 people attended an event in Ayr to celebrate the launch of South Ayrshire's new Adult Disability Strategy - Live your Best Life. A bold five-year vision to ensure people with learning disabilities in South Ayrshire can achieve their full potential.

The South Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) coordinated the design of this new strategy to ensure that organisations operating in South Ayrshire are able to meet the principles set out in the National Strategy for Learning Disability - The Keys to Life. The strategy focuses on empowering people with Learning Disabilities to have;

• A healthy life

• Choice and control

• Independence

• Active citizenship

This strategy has been informed by engagement with service users, families and carers and with professionals, managers and staff from organisations from across the sectors currently engaged in supporting people with a learning disability, including the new League of Champions.  

The League of Champions is a group of people who have come together from across South Ayrshire to champion the rights of people living with a learning disability, made up of service users, family members and staff. Leading on this piece of work our new league of champions will continue to work with the HSCP to embed the principles of the strategy into practice.

Fiona Dawson, a member of the League of Champions said at the event, "This Learning Disability Strategy booklet covers everything that you need to know, please read it as it is worth it.

"We will make this launch worthwhile. This is out dream, my dream and our confidence will grow with this League of Champions. We need to feel supported by others. We need to stand up for ourselves and make our voices stronger than ever."

Copies of the new strategy were available at the event, including copies of the summary version of this strategy. Both versions have been developed to be accessible, using easy read methods to ensure that this is a strategy for all.

Linda Semple Chair of the Integration Joint Board said, "This is an outstanding piece of work and showcases exemplary best practice in the development of strategies. Engagement and collaboration is key to creating strategies that work and the way this document was brought together should be the norm. Bringing our communities to the heart of everything the HSCP does."

Tim Eltringham, Director for South Ayrshire Health and Social Care, added, "We will seek to provide support in a way that provides people with choice and control and offers them maximum flexibility to live their lives in ways that they want, and which best meets their personal aspirations.

We will continue to listen to people with learning disabilities, parents and carers and ensure they can play an active role in decision-making. We hope that this is just the beginning of an ongoing collaboration to improve outcomes for people with learning disabilities."

The new South Ayrshire Adult Learning Disability Strategy can be found on the South Ayrshire HSCP website: https://hscp.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/LDStrategy22-27