Getting It Right - From The Start is a volunteer-led healthcare project in the UK

Getting It Right – From The Start is a volunteer-led healthcare project based on a partnership between Mencap and four clinical commissioning groups. The main aim of the three-year project is to make reasonable adjustments to primary care services for people with a learning disability. This will improve the quality of service at GP practices. The project is being piloted by four clinical commissioning groups: East Surrey, Exeter and Mid Devon, Northamptonshire, and North Tyneside, supported by a locality co-coordinator and a Lead GP. What the project involves:

1. We recruit Volunteer Champions, who have a learning disability, and Volunteer Mentors, who provide support to the Champions.
2. We invite 20 GP surgeries in each of the pilot localities to engage with the volunteers.
3. The volunteers provide an Action Plan to the GP surgeries about what ‘reasonable adjustments’ can be made and how they can be made.
4. The volunteers deliver learning disability awareness workshops to staff at GP surgeries in each locality.
5. The GP surgeries are given advice on creating easy read documents to help people with a learning disability understand their health.
6. Volunteers re-visit GP practices six months later to review their progress and the impact of the workshop.

An evaluation of the project at the half-way point was produced in March 2013. For the full report, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. us.  More information here.