Supporting patients with a learning disability
Hospital passport
The hospital passport is designed to give hospital staff helpful information that isn't only about illness and health.
Your passport can include lists of what you like or dislike. This might be about the amount of physical contact you're ok with, to your favourite type of drink, as well as your interests.
The passport helps all the hospital staff know how to make you feel comfortable.
If you go into hospital, your hospital passport should go with you. The passport tells the doctors and nurses that they should make a copy and put the copy in your hospital notes.
If you are going to be an inpatient, and stay in the hospital overnight, your hospital passport should hang on the end of your bed so that anyone treating you can take a look at it.
Please contact the Hospital’s Learning Disability Nurses via the hospital switchboard.
Role of the Learning Disability Nurse at Medway NHS Foundation Trust
- Improve the quality of care received by people with learning disabilities
- Collaborate with hospital services, primary care providers such as GP and Pharmacy, community learning disability and specialist services , social services and further public and third sector organisations to ensure effective seamless care
- Give specialist advice and support for professionals in relation to personalised care and reasonable adjustments
- Coordinate care and collaborate with the multi-disciplinary team in relation to the assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care from admission to discharge
- Provide accessible information and actively assist patients with a learning disability and their carers when using hospital services
- Provide support and advice regarding best interest, consent, advocacy, mental capacity and safeguarding
- Coordinate and assist in the delivery of learning disability awareness training and further education to professionals to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities
- Raise the profile of health and care needs of people with learning disabilities across the hospital and secondary care provisions
- Ensure a high standard of care is provided throughout the patients' journey
- Ensure that the views of patients with learning disabilities and their carers are taken into account
- Promote positive experiences and outcomes for patients with learning disabilities and their carers
Who can use the service?
People with a learning disability and their carers, and anyone with significant vulnerabilities who need support, advice and guidance whilst they are accessing acute hospital services.
Referral
The Acute Learning Disability Nurse accept referral from people with learning disabilities and their carers, health and social care professionals, and anyone who is involved in the care of the individual.
Can be contacted via switchboard, based within the Safeguarding Team.