In 2009, the Estia Centre celebrates a decade of working \ud
towards making sure the mental health needs of people \ud
with learning disabilities are met – through specialist \ud
clinical services, research, and a programme of training \ud
and education for both support workers and mental \ud
health professionals. \ud
\ud
Despite government efforts of recent years, people \ud
with learning disabilities are still marginalised. Those \ud
with mental health problems and more complex needs \ud
are even more socially excluded: they are much less likely \ud
to be given the chance to speak for themselves and much \ud
less likely to be given choices. Many people with learning \ud
disabilities and mental health problems are placed in \ud
residential or specialist treatment centres far from their \ud
local community: historical lack of state investment has \ud
led to a growth of independent providers of services \ud
and a dearth of specialist public sector alternatives. \ud
Based on Guy’s Hospital campus at London Bridge, the \ud
Estia Centre is part of South London and Maudsley NHS \ud
Foundation Trust (SLaM). Members of the Estia team work \ud
in SLaM’s clinical services and at the Institute of Psychiatry \ud
(IoP),King’s College London, SLaM’s academic partner. \ud
There is also a dedicated team at the Centre responsible \ud
for organising a large portfolio of training, offered \ud
routinely to staff in social care and mental health services \ud
in south London, and also available on request to staff \ud
working in services around the UKand in other countries. \ud
\ud
The work of the Estia Centre has been inspirational to \ud
clinicians and policy makers around the world. Over the \ud
years, the Estia team has shared skills and experience \ud
through long-standing collaborations and consultancy \ud
work, helping to shape and develop specialist mental \ud
health services for the benefit of people with learning \ud
disabilities and their families
