The Policy for Joint Working between Plymouth Hospitals Trust and the
Learning Disability Partnership – easy read
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust want to make sure that
all people with learning disabilities have good medical and
nursing care when they are in hospital.
About the policy:
People with learning disabilities should have the same
standards of care as everyone else.
The Disability Discrimination Act is a law that says that
this must happen.
This Policy is a plan that tells everyone how this will
happen.
This Policy will set out the standards for all patients with
learning disabilities aged 18 and over.
People with learning disabilities have problems with their
health and struggle to get good health care. The Death by
Indifference Report (2007) told stories about how some
people with learning disabilities had very poor care and
treatment from health care services. Some people died.
About people with learning disabilities
People with learning disabilities are people first.
Not all people with learning disabilities have the same
needs or disabilities.
People with learning disabilities can have a number of
needs:
The Policy for Joint Working between Plymouth Hospitals Trust and the
Learning Disability Partnership – easy read
 Medical – problems with the body
 Communication – need help with talking, reading or
writing
 Memory – remembering things
 Social – getting on with other people
 Physical – help with personal care
 Emotional – help with behaviour and feelings
Consent and capacity
Consent is when someone gives their agreement for a
doctor or nurse to give medical treatment. People with
learning disabilities may need extra help to tell doctors or
nurses if they consent to the treatment. Capacity is when
someone can prove that they understand what something
means.
The Mental Capacity Act is the law that tells doctors or
nurses that they have to prove that someone does not
have the capacity to understand something.
When someone with a learning disability does not have
capacity – decisions about their medical treatment will be
made in their Best Interests.
Best interests decisions will
 Involve the person and their family.
 Look at the person’s past and present wishes
 Treat all people equally
 Involve an advocate
 Recorded on the persons medical file
People who do have capacity or family will be offered an
IMCA advocate – this is an advocate who helps people
who do not have capacity.
The Policy for Joint Working between Plymouth Hospitals Trust and the
Learning Disability Partnership – easy read
Going into Hospital
A plan that records a persons needs should be made
before they go into hospital. The plan will tell everyone
who needs to know about their learning disability and what
their needs are.
The plan will help people going into hospital to find out a
medical problem and people going in for treatment.
In an emergency:
The Emergency Department will identify people with
learning disabilities who use services when they go into
hospital.
The Emergency Department will contact the Learning
Disabilities Liaison Nurse to find out how to meet the
person’s needs.
All nurses and doctors within the Emergency Department
will have training to make sure that they can give good
care and medical treatment to people with learning
disabilities.
Care in hospital
The Matron or Nurse in Charge will inform the Learning
Disabilities Liaison Nurse when a patient with learning
disabilities goes into hospital.
The Learning Disabilities Liaison Nurse will talk to
person and their family about their care and treatment.
The Doctor and the patient will meet to make sure that
they all understand about their care and treatment. This
will be recorded in the person’s medical file.
The Policy for Joint Working between Plymouth Hospitals Trust and the
Learning Disability Partnership – easy read
The patient’s treatment plan will be reviewed daily. This
should involve the Learning Disabilities Liaison Nurse.
Dignity in Care
This Policy will make sure that all people with learning
disabilities are treated with dignity by all health care staff.
People have a right to privacy when staying in hospital.
All patients with learning disabilities will have an
assessment and plan of care for their stay in hospital.
Leaving hospital
The Matron will make tell the Discharge Case
Management Team – who help people to leave hospital,
about patients with learning disabilities who are finishing
their treatment.
Complaints
A complaint is saying when you don’t like something.
All staff will work to sort out complaints when they come
up.
If the complaint can not be sorted out, the member of staff
will contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service
(PALS) who help patients to sort out their complaints.
Support for people with learning disabilities in
hospital
Patients with learning disabilities may need extra help and
support when they are in hospital.
The Policy for Joint Working between Plymouth Hospitals Trust and the
Learning Disability Partnership – easy read
Care from family members will be agreed and planned.
Support from paid carers should be planned and agreed
before the patient with a learning disability goes into
hospital. People will bring their paid support hours into
hospital.
Where extra support is needed this will be paid for by the
Hospital. The right level of support will need to be agreed
by the Matron to meet the needs of the patient with a
learning disability.
Talking to people about their hospital stay
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust will hold 4 meetings
every year to talk about
 Patients with learning disabilities who have had a
good hospital stay
 All complaints from patients with learning disabilities
about their healthcare
 Patient Advice and Liaison Service feedback about
patients with learning disabilities
 Feedback from the Learning Disabilities Liaison
Nurse
 Feedback from patients with learning disabilities.
 Feedback about this policy.