Our latest Camphill Families and Friends Open Meeting was once again held online, via Zoom – and very well attended.
The meeting was entitled ‘How can we support healthy living and in particular weight management in Camphill communities?’
Read the notes from this meeting here
At our coffee mornings, and in conversation, families are increasingly voicing their concerns about the health of their relatives. In particular they report the sometimes dramatic weight gain in some people in communities, and the contrast with their visits home when, without dieting, the weight drops off.
The reasons for this appear to be many, and complex, and often go beyond simply healthy eating and exercise. Of course it’s an issue that exists in the wider community too. Helping people with learning disabilities to take control of their health and weight is very tricky because it brings into focus the matter of choice, the freedom to make unwise decisions, and the extent to which support staff can and should influence what people do. Mental capacity and risk assessments need to be taken into consideration.
The concern of families whose relatives’ health is at risk because of weight gain has become something we felt we couldn’t ignore, so we decided to focus this Open Meeting on healthy living, weight management, choice and best interests. We invited a panel of people with different expertise and experience who facilitated a discussion. Together we talked about how we might all help to bring this subject out into the open and support both management and our relatives to make some effective changes.
Our panel
Cate Searle is a Director and Head of the Community Care Law Team at Martin Searle solicitors. She has worked in the field of Health and Social Care for ten years and her specialisms include Mental Capacity and Health and Welfare.
Judy Bailey was for many years a Camphill co-worker/house co-ordinator. She now runs a Shared Lives house in Stroud, and is involved in training in holistic home-making for managers and support staff at Ruskin Mill, a training centre for young people with LD and challenging behaviour.
Dr Marcus van Dam is a GP with the Danby practice which serves Botton Village. People with LD generally have worse health than others, particularly regarding obesity, early mortality and psychiatric conditions. Marcus’s research showed that such problems were noticeably fewer among people who lived in an intentional Camphill community.
To read the notes from this meeting, visit our Notes from previous events section here.
