Overview
Demand for our service has continued to rise substantially and we are supporting more beneficiaries with a learning disability than ever. As of our year end 31st May 2020, during the preceding 12 months, we supported an average of 16 beneficiaries per day – up from 14 in the previous year; and our number of provided day sessions for the year rose considerably by 458 to 3924.
We have also worked hard to now have 6 months reserves in place. Although we have lost some income through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are confident this reserves position is helping to protect us with the added capacity to remain operational for our beneficiaries, in these especially uncertain and challenging times.
COVID-19 Impact Assessment
Service change March – June 2019
We were one of the first providers in the county to encourage a managed service reduction for our beneficiaries, in line with emerging COVID-19 Public Health England guidelines for people with a Learning Disability. As a result, we were then well placed to fully suspend provision as soon as the Local Authority announced services should be closed, effective immediately.
Outreach and alternate delivery
During the lockdown, our staff and volunteers continued to provide an outreach service with regular social and wellbeing calls to all our beneficiaries and carers. We also distributed a variety of home-based activities such as: growing kits, nature spotting sets and craft activities. We also used our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MissendenwalledGarden/ to keep our friends and supporters updated. One favourite involved staff performing on and producing singalong videos, covering some of our beneficiaries’ favourite songs.