Brenda knows him very well
And so does Amy too,
Gary was good friends with him
When they were at school.
They haven’t seen him for a while
Someone said he’d moved away
Then Gary met Pete’s mum
In the town one day.
As she spoke to Gary
She stood there and cried
And explained that Pete
Was now living far away.
Gary listened carefully
But said he didn’t understand,
Why Pete had to move
So far away from home.
Then through her tears she tells him
Pete pushed her down the stairs,
She ended up in hospital
And everyone was scared.
So then there was a meeting
To decide where Pete would go
And it was agreed that Pete
Would move out of his home.
Pete didn’t like these changes
It made his behaviour worse
And then one day she heard
That Pete had hit a nurse.
Then Pete was moved further away,
Now it’s hard to keep in touch
That was two years ago
She misses him so much.
Gary starts to say goodbye
And just as they are leaving,
Pete’s mum turns back to say,
“Next week there is a meeting,
I’m hoping Pete can leave there
And move back to this town
I know that he wants
His friends and family around.”
Gary is upset
As he walks back home,
All that night he thinks about
What Pete is doing now.
Then the very next day
When he’s at the Green Gates centre
He talks about where Pete is
With his friends. Amy and Brenda.
Brenda says, “it’s so upsetting,
I hope Pete gets out of there,
Is this what it means,
When they talk about Transforming Care?”
Gary looks across at Brenda
And says “I’m not sure,
But we’ve heard these words at meetings
Many times before.”
So they go to the computer
To find out what this means
And search for information
That is easy to read.
They sit and read together
All about Transforming care,
What it is and what should happen
In their local area.
So when they go to their next meeting
They have some questions ready
To ask why someone like Pete
Is still living far away.
Gary explains Pete’s a friend of theirs,
And he’s lived here for many years,
When Gary has finished talking
Many people are in tears.
But now 3 months later
Nothing much for Pete has changed,
He’s still living far away
Because nothing yet has been arranged.
There are lots of talks about funding
And finding the right care
To make sure that Pete is ready
To move away from there
And while Pete is waiting
To move back to his home town
There are many more people like Pete
If you ask around.
So do you know how many
People from your area
Are waiting just like Pete
To get the right support and care?
And how much do you know
About Transforming Care
To make sure people live the life they choose
In your local area?
©Karen Murray2017
For more information about Transforming Care visit;
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ld-nat-imp-plan-oct15.pdf
Tales from Magnolia street 