Meeting the Health Needs of people with Learning
Disabilities
Plan
• Discuss the health needs of people with learning disabilities.
• Barriers they face in accessing healthcare• Role of Acute Liaison Nurses
Health Inequalities
• Start early in life and continue into Adult hood• Thought to be, in part, due to barriers they face in
accessing health services• Shorter life expectancy • Life expectancy for people with Down’s syndrome
increasing• Mild learning disability >• Moderate to severe Learning disability, mortality rate is 3
times higher than that of the general population.
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Health and People with Learning Disabilities
• Cardiac Disease • Respiratory Disease• Helicobacter Pylori• Cancers• Epilepsy• Mental Illness
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Health and People with Learning Disabilities
• Sensory Impairments• Dementia• Dysphagia• Diabetes• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease• Constipation
Health and People with Learning Disabilities
• Physical Disability• Osteoporosis• Women’s health• Oral health
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Barriers to accessing healthcare
• Communication Difficulties• Inflexible services• Lack of education/preparation that assists individuals to
negotiate GP practices• Lack of education for Primary Care/Acute Hospital staff• GPs are unfamiliar with services for people with learning
disabilities• GP systems / appt slots
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Barriers to PLD Accessing Services
• Limited development of information leaflets/documentation about people with learning disabilities and associated health needs
• Assumptions made about ability to consent and / or comply with treatments, lack of knowledge about MCA
• Social Exclusion of people with learning disabilities• Low expectations of health both of the individual and
their carer• Waiting times
Current documents and guidance
• Valuing People, DOH (2001)• Valuing People Now: a new three-year strategy for
people with learning disabilities, DOH (2009)• Healthcare for all (2008)• Death by Indifference, Mencap (2007)• Mental Capacity Act (2005)• Six lives report• Equal access
Recommendations
Flexible non-discriminatory services
and reasonable adjustments:-• Accessible information• Easy to access environment i.e. physical environment
and signage• Menu’s• Appointment times and letters• Feedback• Inclusion in service developments
Acute Liaison Nurse Service
• 5 Acute hospitals within Surrey.• Royal Surrey Hospital- Kathryn Fisher• St Peters and Frimley Park- Nicola James• Epsom General and East Surrey Hospitals – Lynne
Ramnanansingh• We also provide support to Surrey patients going into
Ashford and St Heliers.
Role of Acute Liaison Nurse
• Attempt to ensure that people with learning disabilities have access to all the information they need in relation to proposed treatment
• Make sure the hospital staff have the information they require in order to provide effective care and treatment for someone with a learning disability.
• Co-ordinate between the person with learning disabilities/ family carers / paid care staff/ and the hospital to ensure that their needs are met.
• Plan hospital admissions and provide training to acute staff regarding the client’s needs.
• Advising on capacity, consent, Mental capacity act procedures.
Initial Aims
• To promote the role.• Implement training sessions for acute staff.• To build relationships with social services, community
teams and acute staff.• To review policies and pathways in the acute setting to
reflect the needs of people with learning disabilities. • To review accessible information.
1 Year on
• Focus particularly on problem areas identified• Build links with primary care• Provide training to palliative care staff / hospice staff• Set up service user groups• SALT pathway• Pre-op assessment
Ongoing Work Plan
• Identify link nurses in each clinical area.• Provide 1 days full training for link nurses
covering Learning Disability awareness, health needs of people with learning disabilities, communication, behaviour support, safeguarding.
• CQUIN• Commence Learning disability steering group.• Extend induction training (ESH)
Ongoing Work Plan
• Flagging• Ward based training sessions (EGH)• Focus on Accident and Emergency and acute
admissions wards.• Review feedback questionnaires.• Continue to work on accessible information with the
communication people.• Developing work based competencies for acute nursing
staff.
Good Experiences
• The hospital passporthas been embraced bymany care providers and acute areas.
• Support from senior hospital staff.• Palliative care at ESH• Pre-op assessment at Epsom• Training sessions are always well
received• Ward links.
Challenges
• Referrals• Accident and Emergency Depts.• Challenging outdated practice.• Education slots• Working over two areas i.e. Epsom and St. Heliers,
Surrey and Sussex • Feedback
Summary
• Progress is evident• Feedback is needed from service users, paid care staff
and family carers about their experience to allow further development of target areas
• As the role progresses need to review man power
Lynne Ramnanansingh
Learning Disability Acute Liaison NurseEpsom Hospital
Telephone : 07717850309 Pager Number:07699723474
