We were delighted to be joined by Sinead Mooney, Surrey County Councillor and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, at Active Prospects. During her visit, she engaged with several of our services, met with our CEO, Maria Mills, and joined a meeting about Oliver McGowan Training, which is delivered in Surrey by the Care Talent Collective, a group of eight Surrey care providers led by Active Prospects.
Sinead’s visit was a fantastic opportunity for us to discuss the impact we have had on the lives of people with complex needs and to revisit the Redhill service, which she joined us in celebrating its opening. Over the last five years, we have supported more than 50 people to move from hospital settings into their own homes, with a 94% success rate. Sinead witnessed first-hand how our services are making a difference in the lives of the people we support, including meeting Tracey, who lives in one of our services.
Tracey has shown incredible progress and has built strong, trusting relationships with staff. She now confidently goes out into the local town and enjoys socialising, particularly playing bowling. Her journey highlights the positive outcomes that can be achieved with the right support and dedication.
Katie Christmas, who is organising the delivery of Oliver McGowan training for Active Prospects, expressed her enthusiasm about the visit, saying, “It was great to share with Sinead the latest updates of the project and how people with lived experience are helping health and care professionals to make their day-to-day work more appropriate for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.” This training programme is inspired by Oliver McGowan, a young autistic man who tragically passed away due to inadequate understanding and care. His mother, Paula McGowan, has led a nationwide campaign to ensure better training for healthcare professionals.
Sinead also met with Jessica Wood, part of the Care Talent Collective team, who discussed rewarding careers within social care through fast track management programmes. Maria Mills, our CEO, added, “It was great to meet with Sinead again and show her how impactful our work is across social care, but most importantly for the people we support who live aspiring lives.”
