PRIORITISING INDIVIDUAL NEEDS O MYAMEGO ALLOWING OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TO FOCUS CARE SUPPORT Oxfordshire County Council provides support services to a wide range of people with learning disabilities that enable them to live independently. The tenants are living in four terraced houses in Chipping Norton. In previous times, individuals would have been accommodated within hospital settings. The support provided to these tenants is tailored to individual needs, including the provision of 'sleep in' staff in three of the properties – and designated staff being on site in each building throughout the day. One resident, Mr. A, with severe learning disabilities became the catalyst for Oxfordshire to look at a different way of support delivery – which would offer a more flexible approach to the individuals needs and risks, whilst using staff resource more efficiently. "In short, we were looking to focus support, where and when it was needed," says Oxfordshire Care Manager, Lucy Stanton. Seeing the sunrise Staff suspected that Mr. A was leaving the property in the early hours, whilst they were asleep upstairs. They couldn't be sure when/if this was happening and the risks Mr. A might be exposing himself to. Lucy Stanton's colleagues informed her of the MyAmego monitoring system and a demonstration was arranged. "MyAmego was able to meet the identified needs for the individual and the organisation – as has been proven by the outcomes for Mr. A," says Lucy. "The MyAmego reporting facility revealed Mr. A to be making calculated decisions as to when and where he would leave his home. It showed he never went out in poor weather conditions and never went beyond the patio furniture. We assumed he just wanted to see the sunrise and enjoy the early morning. The system provides a warning of tenants going beyond the garden gate but, essentially, it gives the least  restrictive way of supporting Mr. A, whilst alerting staff to possible identified risk". says Lucy. Predicting behaviour patterns In the next door property a lady, Miss B has bi-polar disorder, manifest in some unpredictable fluctuations of mood and behaviour. In her high phase, Miss. B would pace around continuously, go outside a lot and harass other tenants. Previously, she needed a high level of supervision all day! With MyAmego monitoring, staff were able to be more aware of Miss B's patterns of behaviour, so potential negative social interactions could be reduced.  "Apart from Miss B's own benefits and relieving staff of entirely passive duties, Miss B's family were also encouraged that her safety and support was to be catered for in this way," says Lucy. At the time of this article, MyAmego is being rolled out through the other properties, with six tenants now using the system. "Whilst implementation was relatively easy, we did have the task of supporting staff to manage a change in the way support is delivered to individuals. Appointing a ‘champion' of the system helped dispel anxieties concerning the risks for tenants being left for short periods of time alone. We know that when sleep-in staff were replaced with the system, it helped increase the safety of the tenants – as it does when staff need to double up in one location,  leaving tenants without support in their particular home'," says Lucy. Lucy Stanton now looks forward to expanding the use of MyAmego within  Oxfordshire's on-going development of Telecare/Telehealth strategies.