Mick O’ Gorman Chair of the SPARC charity

SPARC is a small charity based in Halton and Liverpool.Supports young people with Learning Disabilities.

Founded in July 1995. Provides training in the skills of social resilience or “mental

toughness” training.

= The Prevention and Early Intervention Model.

Achieving FAIR access to Health and CJS for people with Learning Disabilities.

The starting point for SPARC:

“The most valuable but under-used resource in health and social care today .....are the people

who use our services”.[Dr. Lucien Engelen: Radboud, Netherlands].

Q : Yes….But how to pull this off ?

=

Prevention and Early Intervention.The ONLY GAME IN TOWN.

• People with LD as Designers and Producers & not simply as passive Consumers of Services.

• Moving away from the old Factory Model of top-down Health and Social Care to heal the sick and disabled.

• How to reach out to this vulnerable group within a context of dwindling resources for the Welfare State ?

• = Prevention and Early Intervention really is…… The ONLY GAME LEFT IN TOWN.

The SPARC position.

• Most of the 270 members of SPARC are out of service and off radar of the main statutory services.

• They have Moderate Learning Disabilities [MLD].....and not on official council/NHS registers.

• And yet, it is this “silent majority” who are going to prison, unemployed for life, and turning up at A& E and taking up NHS beds with Diabetes and Obesity and Alcohol problems.

In reality though , our young people are NOT really “out of service” at all.

• They are consuming vast resources ...but at the wrong end of the welfare continuum.

• Diabetes costs the NHS £600 million per year + Obesity £4 billion , and Alcohol causes 1 million hospital admissions p.a

• Prison population has doubled from 41, 000 in 1993 to 85,000 in 2014. And 30% of young offenders in custody have identified special needs.

• And yet….. the last SPARC members survey[2013-2014] shows that : only 14% of our members had a health check: 86% expected never to work in their lives: 63% used drugs: and 70% had contact with the police.

How to reach out to and improve functional literacy and prevention amongst non-readers ?

•Lets talk about Communication for people with LD .•The role of ”Easy Read” and “Signs/Symbols” ..... in a “Digital World” !!•What does the research say about Easy Read/Signs and its impact on people with LD ? We have had over 50 yrs of signs/symbols and maybe 20 yrs of Easy Read in the UK. •What is the evidence of improved health outcomes? •The average reading age of the members of SPARC is 7-9 years.• There are also 8 million people in the UK who are functionally illiterate.•For example: they cannot read a prescription bottle or fill in a form.•But most public information still comes in the written word.

The communication DISCONNECT.

There is there a fundamental DISCONNECT in the way we share information with people with LD.

The things people say:•“What does Custodial mean?”• “ I didn’t understand the judge,,,,, so I just said Guilty.”•“ I've never had a GP……I just go down to the A & E when I get really bad”•“ Look,,,, I know I cant read,,,but what's with all these weird signs and all that mumbo jumbo …I'm not stupid, ok?”

What's “Easy” about “Signs/Symbols .....? Take a guess please.

A way forward by embracing the “Digital World”.

• We all have something in common in this room .• But what can it be?• Is it .....our Jobs and Roles? • Are we all just very nice folk ?• Clue: Its in your bag ! The Magic Brick !!• The world has really changed from Gutenberg to

Zuckerberg……..• And the members of SPARC just love it !!!!

The SPARC Real Comics Project

• SPARC approached NHS Halton CCG in Nov/2013 with an idea to improve digital health literacy for young people with LD .

• The SPARC and Halton CCG Real Comics project was established to design and publish x 6 animated comics/films.

• Please meet Joe Tottey : our comic illustrator/film animator and scouse Michelangelo.

• Please meet Ken Dobson: the good looking scouser with the Guy Fawkes tash and a Lead Practice Manager in Liverpool.

• The project has also been interesting in terms of the professional roles of all the NHS staff involved.

Comic on Cancer

Comic on Child Sexual Exploitation[CSE]

Comic on Mate Crime

Inter-Active Posters: SampleHave a look at the fold out flyer .

The Phone App: Joe Tottey

Ken Dobson: Practice Manager.Case Study of an inner-city GP surgery in Liverpool.

• Sefton Park Medical Centre, Liverpool.• Large inner-city GP surgery: 8,000 patients.• Large BME[30%] +Transient population.• High social deprivation and poor health.• Literacy and communication problems.• Partnership with SPARC:• Case Study: a Centre of Excellence in Digital Literacy• The “Yemeni Comic Project”.

Current SPARC comic projects

• NHS Halton CCG: Real Comics project.• Liverpool CCG: the Yemeni/ BME project .• Merseytravel and travel safe.• Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner

on the problem of Child Sexual Exploitation.• Comic Oscars events in Halton on June 15

2015: it’s a bit of fun….

Further Information

• Please ask the SPARC team.• Fold out flyer available on your seats for

prices,etc.• Contact details:

Mobile: 07792-110-390Email: mickogorman@blueyonder.co.uk

www.sparcproject.tumblr.com

Thank you for listening.Mick O’ Gorman: Chair of SPARC

And enjoy the rest of the day.