Congratulations to the Open Minds team who worked with complex care client, Andrew*. The team overcame numerous hurdles to help improve his quality of life, and in doing so earned themselves team of the year 2020.
Andrew* received Positive Behaviour Support from Open Minds, Supported Independent Living, and Daily Living support.
As Andrew required two staff to provide care at all times, the list of Open Minds employees who worked with him is a long one.
Tim McLaughlin, Senior Support Worker at Open Minds, said: “The team saw Andrew as a person, someone we all cared about, and we wanted to do everything we could to support him to reach his goals.”
Andrew became a client in 2019, and the Open Minds Positive Behaviour Support Team set to work to produce a Positive Behaviour Support plan to help Andrew and his team manage his behaviours.
In order to produce the plan, the Open Minds specialists worked to understand the reasons behind his behaviours.
Sarah Lysaught, Lead Behaviour Support Specialist, said: “I believe that all behaviour, including challenging behaviour, stems from a reason. It’s important to observe and listen to the person exhibiting the behaviour to really understand what’s going on. Once we understood the reasons behind some of Andrew’s behaviours, we worked with him, the team, and other people in Andrew’s life to implement strategies to overcome the barriers.”
When Andrew first came on board with Open Minds, the team didn’t have a huge amount of information about Andrew or how best to support him.
Whilst working with Andrew, the team were dedicated to listening to and observing Andrew’s behaviours, and were able to produce high quality reports to assist with his care in the future.
Tim said “The data that the team have collectively produced on Andrew is something we have been commended for by Andrew’s Support Coordinator.
“This may not sound like much, but it means that any professionals working with Andrew into the future have an existing foundation of knowledge about him, his triggers, and how to support him to live his best life.”
Throughout the year, the team leaned on all of the Open Minds values in order to provide a safe and professional environment for Andrew to flourish in:
- Integrity – by always doing what was right, and what was in Andrew’s best interests.
- Curiosity – by asking questions, learning Andrew’s triggers, and improving how we work
- Together – over the year, 68 staff members worked closely with Andrew. The team worked together to ensure that everyone knew and understood Andrew’s life. They also liaised collaboratively with other stakeholders in Andrew’s life.
- People Centred – Andrew’s wishes and best interests were always at the forefront.
- Respect – by implementing a positive behaviour support plan, the team worked to reduce restrictive practices and be as respectful as possible to Andrew and his human rights.
*Client name has been changed to protect his identity