Lifeways signs Association for Real Change (ARC) charter to enhance support in Scotland
Lifeways has committed to enhancing the lives of people who receive support in Scotland by signing the Association for Real Change (ARC) Scotland’s Charter for Involvement.
As the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults, Lifeways already has a relentless focus on quality, its own set of meticulous care standards, values and strategy.
But signing the Charter reinforces the company’s commitment to helping people who receive support in Scotland have their voices heard so they can shape their own care and help us prioritise what is important to them.
Fiona Barrie-Higgins, Regional Director for Scotland at Lifeways, said: “I am delighted that Lifeways, on behalf of the people we support, recognises the importance of this Charter. We are already dedicated to providing person-led support that’s always improving.
“This Charter will help guide us, alongside Lifeways’ own Care Standards and CHOICE values - Caring, Honest, One team, Innovative, Courageous, and Equal. Together, these high standards give the people we support full choice and control to live their best lives.”
Written by people who receive support in Scotland, the Charter contains 12 key statements that aim to improve services:
- We must be at the heart of any plans about our lives.
- We have a right to live our lives independently.
- We must be involved in our communities.
- We must be able to speak about how our support is working for us and what would be better.
- We want to be involved in choosing the people who support us.
- We want to give information and training to staff at all levels.
- We want to be involved in writing policies that affect us and making them easy to understand.
- We want to be involved in decisions made by the organisations that plan and run our support.
- We want to be involved in events run by the organisations that plan and run our support.
- We want to be involved with ‘speaking-up’ groups.
- We want to take part in national and local campaigns.
- We have the right to make formal complaints if we need to.
The Charter for Involvement was first published in 2009 in partnership with the National Involvement Network (NIN) which it has been working with since 2007 to improve lives for people who receive support across the country.
The latest version of the Charter was published in 2019, drawing on real feedback and experiences to make sure it reflects the needs of people who receive support in Scotland.
ARC Scotland works to enhance health and social care by improving knowledge, practice, and policy. The charity’s work supports people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health challenges, and sensory or physical disabilities.
About Lifeways:
Living Ambitions, which operates in Scotland, is part of Lifeways. Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community.
We support adults with diverse and complex needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions.
Lifeways delivers support across three divisions: supported living, residential and mental health services.
As the supported living sector’s largest team of professionals, Lifeways’ extensive experience and national reach mean we deliver extraordinary support to adults, enabling them to live fulfilling and independent lives in the community.
Our 9,500 colleagues currently support around 4,200 individuals who live in our 1,500 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales.
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