Steve Lake – A Reflective account…

(The name of the person supported will not be used, I will, instead, call him Jules)

A trip to Little Dunham with Jules was planned. I asked Jules if he would like to go for a walk, and suggested he might like to get his shoes if he was in agreement, which he then did. I checked the support plan and the risk assessments pertaining to this to ensure that policies and procedures would be followed correctly and to see if there had been any recent changes as they are ‘Live’ documents and are updated regularly. Dunham is a place that Jules visits regularly for walks so it would provide the comfort of familiarity for him. There will be only one experienced staff member required for this, and my mobile phone will be with me in the event of an emergency.

Jules had got up about 8.15 a.m. and had his usual bath and breakfast, followed by his meds. He appeared in a settled mood, which was suitable for our trip. Had he been in an unsettled mood we would have postponed the trip to later that day, as there may have been risk to both himself and others.

Jules was asked if he would like to take a drink with us and I showed him the flask, we have used this before whilst out walking to take a drink with us, and he appeared to agree as he picked up the flask. I asked him what drink he would like and showed him the bottles of juice available and he chose one, which I then used to fill the flask. I confirmed that he still wanted to go and asked him to put his shoes on, which he did; this indicated to me that he was happy to go. I also ensured that he was dressed in appropriate clothing for the weather conditions that were prevalent, for example, a jumper and coat if it was cold.
After I had informed my colleagues where I was going and that I had my mobile phone in case of emergency we went out to the car where he got into the front passenger seat, put on his seat belt and shut the door. Jules is able to travel in the front seat of the car when with a member of staff with whom he feels comfortable; I have now noted this in his support plan after a conversation with my manager regarding this.
I then confirmed that the car was okay and that there was plenty of fuel for the journey. I got into the car, checked that Jules was okay then we set off, I confirmed several times during the journey that he was okay.

When we arrived at Little Dunham I parked the car in a little lay-by with the passenger side to the path so that Jules could exit the vehicle safely. I exited the car and then opened the passenger door so that Jules could get out; I