Press Release

From a service life to a community life

23rd October 2007

United Response chief executive Su Sayer talks person-centred approaches at Learning Disability Today conference

How do we support people to move from a service-orientated life to a full and engaging life in the community? This is just one of the questions Su Sayer will be exploring in a panel discussion on the 31st October, at the prestigious Learning Disability Today conference in London. Su – chief executive of the learning disability and mental health charity United Response – will be joining speakers from the Home Farm Trust and Helen Sanderson Associates in a seminar session entitled “Person Centred Approaches – What Works.”

The half hour seminar will be chaired by Stewart Wallace of Care Tech and be followed by a Q&A where the audience will be invited to put their own questions and suggestions to the panel. Su will be discussing how a person-centred approach can deliver measurable results, as well as some of the tools United Response used to implement it.

United Response’s own person-centred working methodology has seen people with learning disabilities seize new opportunities in their lives. It has also boosted staff morale and seen an independently measured improvement in services, leading to it being highly commended at this year’s Charity Awards.

“It’s an exciting chance to show that person-centred approaches aren’t just the latest fashionable jargon, but a real and practical way of giving people a new level of support that allows them to live fuller lives,” said Su of the seminar. “It’s also a way of releasing untapped creativity in our staff, so that they feel able to do their jobs better. I’m also looking forward to picking up some useful approaches from the other speakers so that we can all benefit.”