Following the implementation of key actions resulting from Valuing People (DoH, 2001), people with learning disabilities resident in hospital will be relocated into the community. This paper examines psychological, social and quality of life indicators applied to a group of 50 service users, 36 of whom are soon to be relocated into community housing. The methodology employs a range of psychometric measures in order to describe intellectual and social functioning, mental health, levels of challenging behaviour and quality of life and choice opportunities. The aim was to compile a profile of the individuals as a group in order to inform service planning and provision. Results illustrate that the group contains a range of individuals with complex and enduring needs. A discussion of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for these individuals and the services that support them is presented. The study presents an opportunity to re-apply this methodology in future years in order to evaluate whether community living has brought tangible benefits to the group.

Valuing People (DoH, 2001) states that a hospital cannot be considered as a home for people with learning disabilities. As a consequence, all hospitalbased residents must be relocated into community accommodation within a stringent time frame. The philosophical underpinning of Valuing People is that people with learning disabilities should be integrated with the general population and participate in everyday community living experiences. An ultimate aim of this process is that people with learning disabilities should be supported in fulfilling their potential as citizens, not just experiencing, but also contributing to, the richness of community living.

Recent studies have sought to evaluate the first wave of hospital relocations that took place in the 1980s. A study by Forrester-Jones and colleagues (2002) reports qualitative findings from 196 participants who report positive effects in relation to living environment, the social milieu and independence. However, problems including bullying, an unsatisfactory social regime, poor physical accommodation and personal feelings of loneliness and boredom were also cited. MacLeod and colleagues (2002) examined the effects of relocation from hospital residence to community placements. The authors hypothesised that a comparison of baseline and follow-up measurements would illustrate an increase in adaptive behaviours and a fall in challenging behaviours. In fact the reverse was true; the authors found a simultaneous increase in challenging behaviours accompanied by a decrease in adaptive behaviour levels.

Cummins and Lau (2003) take a cautious view, stating that relocation of people with learning disabilities into the community qualifies simply as community exposure rather than true integration. It is clear that further research is required in order to identify key factors that facilitate community integration for people with learning disabilities. A focus on both the quantifiable and the qualitative experience of people with learning disabilities as they move is also required (Emerson et al, 2000). Longitudinal research strategies capable of examining the experiences of people with learning disabilities across time are also necessary in order truly to capture the significance of this transition. Such information will aid service commissioners and service providers to retain a long-term focus, as well as providing a framework through which to address the needs of remaining service users who live in hospital or campus settings and those who are detained in private psychiatric hospitals.

This study aims to take a first step in describing psychosocial baseline information relating to adults with a learning disability housed in a residential hospital comprising six units. The study includes eight residents housed in a low-secure forensic unit. These residents are unlikely to be relocated in the near future, as they are detained under various categories of the Mental Health Act and require ongoing rehabilitation. A further six service users were likely to remain in hospital in order to receive ongoing assessment and intervention. These service users were included in the study in order to provide a complete profile of the hospital's residents and to provide comparison information across the participant groups. The study aims to describe the characteristics of the residents and outline their ongoing support needs across a number of areas of functioning. In addition to a learning disability, the client group exhibit a range of challenging behaviour, mental illness, sensory/physical disability and forensic risk management needs.