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Written by Head of Nursing
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People with learning disabilities have a right to the same level of health care as that provided to the general population. This care should be flexible and responsive and any diagnosis or treatment must take account of specific needs associated with the person’s learning disability.
The term "Learning Disability (LD)" is used to describe a person who has developmental delay or intellectual disabilities which are usually evident from birth or early childhood.
There are three core criteria, which must be met for the term learning disability to apply:
- Significant impairment of intellectual function
- Significant impairment of adaptive and or social function (ability to cope on a day to day basis with the demands of his/her environment and the expectations of age and culture)
- Age of onset before adulthood.
On this page, you can find out how we support patients with learning disabilities in our care as well as other useful links and resources.
Trust Leads
The Trust lead for safeguarding adults is Vanessa Avlonitis. You can also contact a matron if you have an issue or question.
Admissions will inform the Acute Liaison Nurse of any admissions of people with a learning disability for the forthcoming month where ever possible.
The Liaison Nurses' Role
Provide support to people with learning disabilities and their carers prior to and during contact with the acute hospital i.e. outpatient appointments, emergency and planned admissions. The service is based on joint working and the type of support given will obviously depend on the individuals and their carers perceived needs and requests for support. So far my role has involved:-
Linking with departments within the hospital in order to advise carers and people with learning disabilities of what to expect from the hospital visit/stay i.e. how to get to the department, where to park, what to expect and how long the procedure will last.
Supporting People with Learning Disabilities
This policy has been developed and ratified by the Learning Disability Steering Group which represents Surreys’ five acute trusts including Ashford and St Peters. The steering group is a sub section of Surrey health care group and Surreys’ learning disability partnership board.
It addresses a number of important issues for people with learning disabilities when using Ashford and St Peters Hospital. This includes equality of access, easy to understand information, best interest decision making and the role of the Community Learning Disability Teams and support staff.
Assessing a Patient's Mental Capacity to make Decisions
This guidance sets out for staff the process to be followed in assessing a patient’s capacity to make decisions and what to do if a patient is assessed as being unable to make a decision.
The information reflects the legal framework provided by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and summarises the guidance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice (the Code) which provides guidance and information about how the Mental Capacity Act works in practice.
Weblinks
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Last Updated ( Friday, 10 February 2012 16:12 )
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Learning Disabilities