Pat* has moderate learning disabilities and a borderline personality disorder. She lives at one of our homes in Yorkshire.

Eighteen months ago, Pat* was experiencing considerable anxiety when taking part in activities outside the home. She only wanted to access the community twice a week to do her food shopping and personal shopping and wasn’t interested in any other activities.

Pat* started to neglect herself, refused to take her medication and threatened others. This challenging physical behaviour would occur every ten days, putting herself and others at significant risk of harm.

After reviewing Pat’s* support plans, the management team and Pat* agreed that she had too many free days each week, with no incentive for her to manage her mental health.

The team started to support her to access the community five days a week, taking part in more varied activities such as walking, bowling, meals out, going to the pub, visiting places of interest and more.

Over time, and with intensive support and team perseverance, Pat’s* challenging behaviour reduced and only occurred every two months.

To date, Pat* has continued to access the community five days a week, visiting various places and taking part in a range of activities. This has greatly improved her quality of life, enabling her to live a more fulfilling life, and she is currently only presenting as a physical risk every four to five months.

*Some of the details have been changed for confidentiality reasons.

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• case study
• learning disability