Everyone needs a bit of ‘me time’, and a break away from everyday life can help with that.  Since 2015, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has been organising short breaks for adults with learning disabilities.  

Short breaks allow the family some respite from their caring role, but more importantly the adult with learning disability gets the chance to go away for a few days on their own.

Organising a short break for a group of adults with learning disability can be complex but has great rewards for the adults. We want them to have a break but also help them maintain the friendships that they have made with other adults with learning disabilities.

Working with Community Lifestyles, who are a key short break provider, we organise short breaks for our service users who have been assessed as being suitable for a short break. Community Lifestyles also provides support to the adults for the duration of the break.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic meant that short breaks had to be paused. 

In April this year, when COVID-19 restrictions looked like they were easing, our HSCP’s Local Area Co-ordination Team started planning with Community Lifestyles on how best to restart short breaks. We had to ensure that any short breaks organised would keep the adults safe and comply with COVID-19 restrictions but also allow the adults the chance to relax and enjoy themselves.

The planning had the occasional setback; however, the first break went ahead to the beautiful Pettycur Bay Resort in Fife on 14 June. The groups attending were smaller in number however this has proven to be a great success with everyone having a smashing time.  We’ve now set up a rolling programme of short breaks, and so far 108 adults with a learning disability have been able to enjoy a break. 

Victoria who has enjoyed a short break since they restarted said, “I loved every minute of it”.  

Raymond Traynor, a Locality Area Co-ordination Manager in our HSCP said, “It’s been a superb effort by everyone involved to get the breaks up and running again and particular credit must go to Community Lifestyles support workers who have adapted their practice to comply with all pandemic protocols when supporting people on the breaks. The feedback from service users and carers has been very positive.”