Brian Hutchinson is the Chief Executive of Real Life Options, one of the founding members of the Learning Disability Coalition. Here he tells us about the difficulties facing Real Life Options in a time of cuts and efficiency savings:
“So that was a meeting about ‘efficiency targets’, followed by a mad dash in the car to hear about ‘a redirection in the social care budget’, then a train journey with phone calls to keep me informed about the rumour of a ‘significant announcement regarding funding’. It was never meant to be this way! Surely we were meant to spend our time looking at how we could make things better not cheaper! That’s a thought that keeps returning to me.
The background noise seems to increase, with ever more imaginative ways to tell us ‘you will be receiving less money, but we would like you to achieve better things, improve staff terms and conditions, while agreeing that this will move social care forward.’ The temptation is to join in, to use the same language, to talk about new realities and the redesign of service provision. Sometimes (dare I say it out loud?) I’m not so sure that less can equal more!
Anyway, the car has stopped and that looks vaguely like Real Life Option’s Stockton office, so at least I’ll have a cup of tea and maybe no-one will mention funding for an hour. The next two hours are the graduation ceremony for ten people and their supporters who have completed the Making Change Happen course, delivered by Partners in Policymaking. Some of the people have received a service from Real Life Options for ten years and some for only six months.
The office was not like I had ever seen it before. It was covered in streamers, balloons and basically cheery stuff! You had to smile. You had to go and look and read and smile. It was fantastic: stories of Robbie Williams’ concerts, poems freshly written, photographic displays, dreams on paper; and the people who had made them standing proudly by to answer questions. The phone rings and it’s a commissioner’s number, but this afternoon he can wait.
I’m asked to leave while people prepare. Prepare for what?? I’m handed a script and told “there will be a play, say these words, don’t improvise” – a hard task if you have ever met me! I was summoned, I said my lines and they said theirs; the audience of 30 laughed! I was booed, they laughed some more! It’s been a long (but not very) time since I was booed by thirty people. There were support workers in wigs, male team leaders in skirts, directors of operations in…well, let’s say it was different!
People told stories, received certificates, predicted the future and smiled; most of the time while standing up in front of 30 people. This didn’t strike me as odd at first, that’s what I do. That’s why Real Life Options pay me, I suppose. However, the graduates had never done this before. The people who worked as support workers, team leaders and administration officers had never done this before; and I know we don’t pay them enough, nor do we pay them as public speakers. It was exceptional. It was bloody brilliant! It really was.
The phone went again – the same commissioner, the same question. Had I “considered how Real Life Options may support a twenty percent redirection of the budget allocation……”; I almost couldn’t help myself, I was quickly back in my stride. ”Well, there are a series of spans of control initiatives that, when aligned with our review of back office capacity and a clear investment strategy in assistive and personal technology options, should realise…”. I would love to say my voice trailed away for a few seconds and then I came back strongly with “No, I haven’t! Have you considered the effect that swingeing cuts can have in an individual’s life and the complete short-sightedness of your actions”. Maybe even, in my head, I went on and delivered the most impassioned speech to do with social care and learning disabilities that has ever been spoken. I did neither – thankfully.
What I did do was simply say “Why don’t we meet and have a cuppa?” We did. We talked. I told him about my day at Making Change Happen. He told me about the budget cut he faced and how “in an ideal world” it wouldn’t happen. As people who are friendly, we agreed that our different positions on funding shouldn’t become the issue. He understands that I cannot accept the ‘efficiency’ myth, that less never leads to more and that, as friends, I simply can’t agree with a reduction if that reduction stops days like Making Change Happen from being the norm. I understand that on particular days he genuinely believes that things like Making Change Happen are ‘added extras’, that they could be “redirected concerning funding” and that safety was the ‘offering’.
Well, as I drove away, I’m feeling a little bit better and a little bit stronger because, despite it all, things can be brilliant. We don’t have to scream and shout, but equally we don’t have to accept that it’s inevitable. My organisation is full of real genuine talent. The people we support are exceptional and talented. Together we will make sure that these skills and talents are not simply focused on the “new realities”, but on making sure that we never lose sight of the fact that days like “Making Change Happen” are the front line and must be protected. How empty a boast would ‘we keep people safe’ be, if they never went to Robbie Williams or had that dream?
So as I dash off in the car to find a train to take me to the place where ‘realignment of needs and expectations’ needs to take place, I am pretty sure my starting point is “why?”, “no!” or “are you sure?” I’m very sure that our imagination and our talents need to remain focused on days like Making Change Happen and not on “can this be done cheaper?” It is possible to save money while investing. It appears everyone but social care knows this. The confidence, skills and friendships that were gained on that course will save more money in the long term than any clever wheeze or unique selling point that you or I ever come up with. Anyway I’m off now. I loved the boos! Chief Executives should be booed more often!”
Brian Hutchinson
Chief Executive, Real Life Options
Well said!
I find it hard to believe that anybody would want to boo you Brian! However, as Kate posted ‘Well said!’