John's story

Transition from hospital to Millburn

During his time in hospital, John would often experience triggers which would lead to incidents. These triggers would cause his mental health to decline, resulting in him presenting with behaviours of concern, being unable to engage with his hobbies and interests, and frequently attempting to abscond.

At this time, John had required pro re nata (PRN) medication up to 43 times per month, and was known to resist when this medication was administered. He also had a disrupted sleep schedule, and did not want to participate in the activities offered at the hospital. Additionally, he would always wear gloves and have his hood up at all times.

It was felt by the professionals involved in John’s care that a residential placement at Millburn would be the ideal next step for him, so he could continue to receive support in a community setting. The team at Millburn worked closely with professionals from the hospital, the learning disability team, John, and his extended support team to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

The team met with John regularly to build rapport and reduce his anxieties, and developed person-centred care plans, positive behaviour support (PBS) plans, and specialised training for the staff team, bespoke to John’s need. In addition, an extra member of staff was recruited and trained so that he could receive one-to-one support, when required.

Achieving positive outcomes

Millburn are delighted to report that John has settled in to his new home wonderfully and has demonstrated huge progress in a number of areas. With the right support in place, John:

• engages well with his support team and fellow residents
• is able to cope with potential triggers without this leading to incidents
• has not attempted to abscond since living at the home
• rarely requires PRN medication, and does not resist when it is administered
• has had his medication significantly reduced by the learning disability team, who have now have discharged him from the service altogether
• happily takes part in a variety of planned activities
• no longer requires 2:1 support in the community
• sleeps through the night, and gets up in the morning with much less support
• is comfortable without wearing gloves or his hood up
• has improved his daily living skills, including taking on cleaning responsibilities
• accesses the home’s garden without support from his key worker
• recently rebuilt his family connections, enjoying regular visits from loved ones

John has a passion for trains, and is supported to visit the local train station to watch them go by as well as travel by train to nearby Glasgow. For his birthday, he was accompanied by his keyworker out on the train for lunch, and visited his favourite shop to buy superhero comics and figures. On their return, the team held a birthday party for him, where he celebrated with everybody at the home. He told his care team that he was so happy and that he had the best day ever.