What is a Third Degree Inspector?

A Third Degree Inspector is anyone with a passion for improving services used by people with a learning disability.

The role of an inspector it to make sure that the services used by people with a learning disability are the best they can be. We believe that if a service is for someone with a learning disability then it should be inspected by someone with a learning disability.

The Third Degree

Inspectors by Experience

We are all got involved through the Learning Disability Partnership Board and through our work with the Northumberland Learning Disability User Forum and Spiral Skills Advocacy Service. People on the Board said that they would like to get more involved in checking the quality of services for people with a learning difficulty. From this, came the idea of the Third Degree Inspection Team.

As inspectors we visit different day services to check if we feel they meet certain standards. We decided what things should be in place in a good service and we check to see if that's happening using an inspection checklist we developed. When we make our inspection visits we try to imagine that we use that day service. Our inspections last two days and we look at things like:

• Is it easy to understand the information on display?
• Is it easy to move around the building, are the rooms large enough, are doors wide enough?
• Is the building clean and in good repair, does it feel warm and inviting. Somewhere that you would enjoy spending time?
• Is there somewhere to sit outside, is there somewhere inside you can go if you want to be quiet and relax?
• Is there a menu with photographs of the food so you can easily choose what you want to eat?
• Is the food healthy and tasty?
• We take part in some of the activities.
• We talk to service users and staff and listen to their views.

When we have finished our inspection we have a meeting to talk through what we feel about the service and put a score out of 10 next to each of the standards. We say what we think was good and what we think needs to be improved.

Then we write a report and award a star rating depending on how well the day service has scored on the checklist.

We think that our inspections help to improve services. It helps to make sure that the services are of a good quality. It picks up on things that need to be improved, but it also helps to share the good things that are happening in day services. It gives service users a chance to say what they think about the services that they use.

We think that if a service is used by someone with a learning disability then it should be inspected by someone with a learning disability".

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The Third Degree Inspectors plan to add the reports from all the day service inspections. You can see how well your local service did.

Or maybe you're thinking of using your individualised budget to attend a day service. Check out the reports to see what others have to say about what a service has to offer.

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The Riverside Centre Blyth

The Third Degree Inspection team David, Gillian, (Sharon, Spiral Skills Advocacy Service) and David

Gillian having fun with a member of staff in a music session.

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The Pottergate Centre Alnwick

The Third Degree Inspection Team Jane, John and Cameron

The Pottergate Centre runs a successful social enterprise. This is the inspection team meeting some of the the staff before a tour of Pottergate Pantry.

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The Third Degree Inspectors Receive top awards.

Best Practice Awards 2007/08

In the category - Change and Innovation

The Third Degree Inspectors are

WINNERS!

The Government White Paper Valuing People made it a requirement of Councils to include people with learning disabilities in the work of learning disability partnership boards.

With the support of Spiral Skills Advocacy Service the members of the Northumberland User Forum presented a new idea to the Northumberland Learning Disability Partnership Board. They asked to be given the opportunity to carry out inspections of learning disability services in Northumberland.

For the members of the User Forum the idea was to start with inspections of Northumberland Care Trust in house services - day services - to show that inspections could highlight areas of good practice and those that needed improvement. Their hope was to build a strong team of confident self advocates with a sense of purpose and responsibility. Then to expand the inspections to include other services such as service in the independent sector and residential services.

Their goal is that one day very soon if you use a service you will be given the opportunity to train to become an inspector of that service.

So if you would like to get involved.

If you would like to have a say in how the services you use are developed and run.

If you use a service or know someone who uses a service that you think would benefit from a visit by the Third Degree Inspectors

Or if you're involved in delivering a service and would you like to arrange for the Third Degree Inspectors to pay a visit then please get in touch.

We'd love to hear from you.

Contact

John Bland, Jane Mackay, Chris Akabusi, Gillian Ions and Paul Mackay

Joanne Brett (Northumberland Care Trust) Jane Mackay, Paul Mackay, Sharon Schmidt (Spiral Skills Advocacy Service) Gillian Ions and John Bland

To view the video of the presentation click here

Paul Mackay, Gillian Ions, David Shannon and Cameron Calvert

John Bland, Jane Mackay and David Hodgson being photographed for the Health and Social Care Awards

Paul Mackay, Gillian Ions, David Hodgson and Cameron Calvert

Local Heroes Gain Regional and National Recognition

Health and Social Care Regional Awards 2008

In the category - People's Experience

The Third Degree Inspectors are

WINNERS!

Now in their 7th year, the Health and Social Care Awards provide an unparalleled opportunity to highlight and celebrate innovation and excellence in the provision of frontline health and social care.

Throughout the NHS, social services, the voluntary, charity and independent sectors, there are people who are passionate about finding new ways of doing things to provide the best possible care to their local population…. and then continue to improve it.

David Hodgson

Cameron Calvert, Sharon Schmidt and David Hodgson

Cameron Calvert and David Hodgson

Cameron Calvert, Joanne Brett and David Hodgson

Cameron Calvert, Third Degree Inspector

David Hodgson, Third Degree Inspector

Sharon Schmidt, Spiral Skills Advocacy Service

Joanne Brett, Northumberland Care Trust