Lindsay Bruton – Specialist Nurse – Young Adults
Our big news this year has been the appointment of Lindsay Bruton as a specialist nurse for young adults. Lindsay brings new skills and experience into the team as a learning disability specialist.
When we look at learning disabilities amongst the young adults we support, 14 have a Severe Learning Disability, 10 a Mild to Moderate Learning Disability and 1 has Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
So 25 out of 37 young adults aged 20 (turning 21 this year) to age 28 have some level of learning disability and/or ASD.
Goodbye to Shelley
Our Support Worker Shelley moved on to pastures new earlier this year. We have been so grateful for Shelly’s sterling and pioneering work for Derian and LifeNoW and we are looking at how we fill the gap with a view to recruiting in early 2024.
We are taking a bit of time to let Lindsay get her role established. As the levels of complexity and demand rise, the support working role also needs to change so that we keep providing the best we can.
Good Transitions
Becoming a young adult with severe life-limiting complex conditions is challenging at the best of times for individuals and their families. Gradually, the need for better support well beyond the age of 18 is being recognised by the NHS and adult hospices. LifeNoW at Derian has been instrumental in helping to bridge the gap and establish good working relations with a number of hospices to improve support along with medical and nursing care in complex cases.
The Derian team have shared expertise and created good transitions for a number of young adults into the support of adult hospices in the North West. In 2024 we aim to develop this work further.
It has been good to work with adult hospices – Woodlands Hospice Liverpool, Bolton Hospice, Pendleside Burnley and St. Mary’s Barrow. Strong links for support have also been maintained and developed with children’s hospices – Claire House Wirral, The Donna Louise Stoke-on-Trent and Jigsaw in Carlisle.
The Numbers and Activities
We started the year with 24 young adults and 11 more have been referred since. We have said goodbye to 5 who become too old for our scheme but who will continue with adult hospice support.
The fabulous facilities at Derian Lodge have enabled a “Weekend Social” for young adults to gather together this year. Home visits, individual casework, planning for end of life and nursing support have been at the heart of our support to individuals and families throughout.
Fundraising
We have received some wonderful financial support in recent times from The Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund, The Fort Foundation, Medicash Foundation, Awards for All, The Albert Hunt Trust, The D’oyly Carte Charitable Trust and the February Foundation. In addition there have been some very generous individual donations along with our base supporters of regular givers. We could not do this without any of you! Thank you.
Having said all that we need to keep the income flowing as our costs are significant to maintain the professional nursing and support posts for the years ahead. So if you have read this far and can commit to giving to our cause, we would be so very grateful.