Annual Wellbeing Report 2023 final - Flipbook - Page 11
Stephen’s story
Regaining
freedom
Stephen is a gentleman in his 50s who has a diagnosis
of learning disability and autism. He is an avid fan of
soap operas, particularly Neighbours and Hollyoaks,
and enjoys music; he is a very strong swimmer, enjoys
fashion and dresses well.
Stephen is very concrete in his thinking style and can be intolerant of
unpredictable people; this difficulty led to a serious incident many years
ago and resulted in Stephen being admitted to psychiatric hospital
under section for over ten years. He was discharged in 2019 to a new
home in Horley, owned by Active Prospects. Initially he was really
happy to be able to go out and do all his favourite things, but it became
overwhelming and when change inevitably happened to his new routine
Stephen had another serious incident in the community.
The aftermath of this incident presented some real challenges for us in
working with social services, health services and court of protection to find
the right approach in balancing safety and a good quality of life. Stephen
became restricted to his own home, leaving only for a drive and essential
appointments; this was compounded by the pandemic and lockdowns.
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A very consistent and dedicated
team was formed and gradually
over the course of 2022 began
to take more positive risks with
Stephen. These included carefully
planned pub lunches in very quiet
pub gardens and finally getting
to go back swimming in a single
person lane at a quiet time of day.
These are small steps
which provide Stephen
with a better quality of
life, and are part of a
much longer-term plan.
