The Board will received a presentation on the experience of living with Physical disabilities in the pandemic.

The Board received and noted a presentation about Real a user-led organisation run by disabled people who live, work, volunteer, or study in Tower Hamlets. An outline of the main points arising from the questioning after the presentation is set out below:

The Board:

v  Was informed that Real supports disabled people of all impairment types, all age groups, all ethnicities, and all other protected characteristics.

v  Understood that Real is driven by and committed to both the social model of disability and the human rights model of disability. They recognise that people are disabled, not by their impairment, but by the physical, communication, attitudinal, financial, and legal barriers, and discriminatory behaviours and practices, which limit disabled people’s equal status in society whether at an individual or group level.

v  Agreed that (i) the complexity of multiple impairments, and the multiple disadvantages disabled people face; and (ii) there are differential experience of disability by those who were born with impairments, and those who acquired their impairments through illness, injury, or ageing.

v  Noted that whilst all the residents experienced the external impact of covid disabled people were more fearful, with the proportion of disabled people who feared catching Covid being significantly higher than the wider population. Therefore, it is not just about the provision of assistance to disabled people, but it is about how agencies engage with those residents’ psychological concerns and make them feel relevant.

v  Noted that during the coronavirus pandemic, primary care services were forced to work differently and patients to receive care in a limited way, breaking with the traditional, person-to-person interaction.

v  Acknowledged that Covid-19 created additional barriers for disabled residents who felt an extra burden of social responsibility in protecting themselves and their own health, while the perception was that other residents had not adhered to Covid rules in public places, with scant regard for anyone else at all, let alone those with impairments and underlying health conditions.

v  Noted that some residents found making sense of the changing rules around Covid harder because of their impairments e.g., disabled residents were regularly confronted with an array of barriers and socially imposed limitations over and above those experienced by non-disabled people. These limitations had sometimes been material, as in the case of physical walls, or spatial, such as the ability to observe social distancing rules or to obtain necessities and this exacerbated mental health issues and distress.

v  Noted that Covid impacted on disabled residents’ independence, sometimes reducing opportunities for independence, sometimes increasing their dependency (e.g., such as support and care arrangements, shopping, transport, and in numerous other ways). Whilst some of disabled residents had to negotiate new living arrangements as they were no longer being covered by their care providers for specific support needs. Although some disabled residents felt better equipped to cope with adversity because of their prior experiences with socially imposed isolation or that they had an existing support structure such as an emotional support dog trained to regularly provide a feeling of comfort and companionship to people who need it. These emotional support dogs help people with health problems manage their symptoms by offering emotional comfort (e.g., to be cheered up by a dog when you are feeling down or having a bad day).

v  Noted that Covid has lessened the number of available options e.g., not having a ‘good’ option and a ‘better’ option but being required to choose between 2 non-preferred options. In addition, for many participants, a lack of formal support during the pandemic has meant that they have had to rely on family and friends.

v  Noted that during the pandemic, the Boroughs disabled residents felt the passage of time more intensely than usual, to varying degrees e.g. felt time “slowing down”, even “coming to a halt”, as plans and routines have been disrupted e.g. extended waiting times and delays to formal government services and support, including health services, as well as an impact on practices such as repairs, building improvement works, online shopping, and in other areas of necessity. These key lifeline services for those within the local disabled community have been significantly disrupted during Covid times.

v  Agreed that it is incumbent upon partner agencies as a collective to consider what they can do differently to help to meet the needs of the hidden victims of Covid including those residents living with disability who have been disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic. In addition, funding to support residents with a disability would be most welcome given that this is an area that has been drastically under resourced even prior to the pandemic.

v  Accepted that it is inevitable given the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic climate that no matter how much extra funding is provided there will still be a shortfall in terms of what is needed to give disabled residents the optimum level of support to enable them to lead as independent and fulfilling lives as possible, which of course they should be entitled to do.  Therefore, the key is to provide support in as joined-up holistic manner as possible. This means all stakeholders and all people collaborating with people with disability coming together. All people involved, from those allocating the local authority budget, to the disability charity support worker or the lawyer supporting someone who has sustained serious injury, can provide valuable input into the best strategy to best meet the needs of disabled young persons and adults.

v  Agreed that there is much to do in a number of the areas and partner agencies need to reflect, learn and to agree when delivering on the recommendations.

v  Acknowledged on the importance of the collaborative process during the pandemic that brought together health professionals (primary and secondary care), organisations such as Real and local families to enable the development of mutual understanding and trust that had empowered professionals to address health concerns together and support families to make informed health choices.

v  Agreed that as Covid continue to be part of our lives for the near future those adults who need care and support may be targeted at this time because of a number of factors. Generally speaking, they may need assistance with some tasks, be less up to speed with technology, more welcoming of new contacts, more trusting and there is concern that social isolation increases the likelihood of abuse. Whilst many older and disabled people spend long periods at home alone under normal circumstances and will continue to do so even as the restrictions lift.

v  Understood that those persons who seek to exploit these vulnerabilities are quick to act and therefore, it would be helpful to have any further thoughts about how the Safeguarding Adults Board and other bodies can create a good culture and to be on the alert for such issues.

v  Recognised that social prescribing should become a ‘routine part of community support across the Borough’ from primary care, local authority, mental health, trust, and the acute trust.

v  Agreed that as community support is often provided by local authorities, charities, and voluntary sector organisations these could undergo a transformation with the expansion of social prescribing (e.g., more joined-up use of premises to help community groups such as sharing leisure, sports, and health services).

v  Noted that Real as the leading disabled people’s organisation in Tower Hamlets are looking to set up a coproduction working group to think about the collaborative process to ensure that coproduction needs to be at the heart of everything that is undertaken within the Borough (e.g., to ensure that frontline staff have the training to support and meet the access needs of local residents).

In conclusion, the Chair thanked all those attendees for a really Insightful, and powerful discussion based on stories throughout the pandemic and that there is such a lot to think about to learn from what has been done well since March 2020 (e.g., how agencies engage with those residents’ psychological concerns and make them feel relevant).