Understanding The Experiences Of People With Learning Disabilities Carers And Hospital Staff In Health Care At A Large General Hospital

General Hospital Care for People with Learning Disabilities is a comprehensive resource for those health professionals in a general hospital setting who may come into contact with people with learning disabilities. The book explores the nature of learning disabilities and highlights specific healthcare needs. It takes the reader through all the key factors in the healthcare process, through pre-admission assessment, care planning, intervention and treatment, and liaison and discharge planning, while highlighting key healthcare needs at each stage. The Department of Health, the National Health Service Executive and Mencap have all reported that people with learning disabilities have increased health needs compared to the general population, yet these needs are often poorly met and people experience difficulties in accessing appropriate services. This is a timely and accessible resource for healthcare professionals in need of a general introduction to caring for people with a learning disability. Relevant to the care of both children and adults with a learning disability Use of case studies to illustrate examples of situations explored in the main text Focuses on key areas of communication, understanding behavior and the often difficult area of consent

Choice and equity of access to primary and secondary health care services is a priority within all aspects of the NHS, however it must be recognised that for some people access to health care can pose difficulties. For various reasons people with learning disabilities can present a range of challenges for the people around them, during times of ill health any difficulties will become ever more apparent. For the health professional working in mainstream primary and secondary care settings, these challenges can be difficult to overcome when attempting to identify health needs and deliver holistic care that is responsive to their individual needs. Health Care Provision and People with Learning Disabilities - A Guide for Health Professionals provides clear information that will assist mainstream health care providers in gaining greater understanding of people with learning disabilities and managing their health needs. Each chapter gives the reader information and guidance on dealing with a variety of situations found in health care settings. Examples of good practice are explained using case examples and experiences of people with learning disabilities and their carers. The book describes what is expected from the various health care teams and offers solutions to potential challenges and barriers they may be faced with. It includes information regarding specialist support services that can offer assistance to the individual and to the mainstream staff teams, while ideas are also offered on how to present information in a format people who have communication difficulties can understand. The evidence base for Health Care Provision and People with Learning Disabilities - A Guide for Health Professionals has been drawn from extensive research, personal experience, policy guidance, as well as some of the current legislation that is applicable to this diverse group of people. The information shared will prove useful for those working in health settings as well as those undertaking studies in health care.

The issue of access is at the forefront of the practical challenges facing people with learning difficulties and people working with or supporting them. This engaging text brings together evidence, narratives and discussions that question and advance our understanding of the concept of access for people with learning difficulties. Seale and Nind draw on their expertise to analyse a wide range of situations, including access to public spaces, citizenship education, community participation, and employment. Through a series of related chapters, key researchers in the field of inclusion and learning difficulties enrich the access debate by: considering what kind of access people with learning difficulties want; identifying effective practice in relation to facilitating and promoting access; revealing the capability of people with learning difficulties to seek and achieve access to potentially exclusionary communities; providing a space for a wide range of people to share access stories. With contributions from a variety of stakeholders including people with learning difficulties, Understanding and Promoting Access for People with Learning Difficulties clarifies the concept of access without over-simplifying what is involved. Through rigorous critique, this book provides a unique rationale for a new multi-dimensional model of access and ways of promoting it. Proposing a reconceptualisation of the risk associated with promoting access for people with learning difficulties, this book will be of immense interest to students, researchers and professionals involved in inclusion and disability issues.

This book is a powerful and moving account of the experiences of 13 people with learning disabilities who were living with cancer. The author followed their lives as part of a 3-year research study, during which 10 people died. She spent extensive periods of time with them at their homes and day centres, in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes. In doing so, she gained a unique understanding of what it is like for individuals with learning disabilities to live with deteriorating health and how this may impact upon their families, friends and carers. How was each person's cancer diagnosed? How was their cancer and its implications explained to them? How much did they understand and how did they cope with treatment? What happened when they were dying? In answering these questions, the book exposes the suffering of people with learning disabilities at the end of their lives, but also their remarkable resilience and strength. In an optimistic final chapter, the author demonstrates how people with learning disabilities can best be supported at the end of life. This book will be an invaluable resource for anyone involved in the care and support of people with learning disabilities who have cancer and who are dying, including health and social care professionals, families and friends.

This textbook presents a practical guide for new and experienced health or social care staff, helping them promote the health and well-being of people with learning disabilities. Given the considerable demand for mandatory training on supporting people with learning disabilities, especially in England, the book provides a valuable resource for all training courses on working with people with learning disabilities. The chapters are co-written by practitioners and people with learning disabilities and their families, rooting the book in the lived experiences of those concerned. Topics covered include core elements of being happy and healthy, communication, changes in our behaviour when we are unwell, making decisions about our health, accessing health services, how we would want to be treated if we were unwell, the use of psychotropic medication, what a ‘good death’ would be, and how to keep ourselves healthy. In addition, the chapters include narrative examples concerning people with learning disabilities and their families, so as to highlight key points and share best-practice examples. The use of personal reflection is used to consider how we can ensure that people with learning disabilities receive care and support that matches what we would expect for ourselves. Core questions at the end of each chapter ask the reader to reflect on how the chapter content relates to their own work and how they will apply what they have learned. A consistent theme throughout the book is equality of opportunity for people with learning disabilities to achieve good health. There is now substantial evidence that people with learning disabilities have poorer health than the general population, are more likely to have multiple health needs, and can experience difficulties in having their illnesses diagnosed and treated promptly. This book aims to help those supporting people with learning disabilities to achieve more equal outcomes.

This well-respected core text provides a comprehensive solid foundation for students of nursing and practitioners who care for and or support people with learning/intellectual disabilities in a range of health and social care settings and scenarios. This book addresses learning/intellectual disability nursing from various perspectives, including historical and contemporary practice, health promotion, interventions for good mental health, people with profound disabilities and complex needs, care across the lifespan, and forensics. This new edition has been comprehensively updated throughout and now includes two entirely new chapters. One covers liaison nursing, and the other explores the future for learning/intellectual disability nursing. The book includes numerous case studies and learning activities to support the reader, as well as remaining clinically relevant. Uniquely this text is linked and benchmarked to the Nursing and Midwifery Councils, UK – Future Nurse Standards of Proficiency and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland’s Competencies for nursing students. This text is essential reading for anyone studying learning/intellectual disabilities at undergraduate and post-graduate levels; it will also be a useful resource for the wider family of nursing, as well as health and social care professionals.

This book provides a fascinating vignette of the personal experiences of People with Learning Disabilities for the better (or worse) part of the last century. What makes the book so interesting is actually meeting some of those involved and seeing their stories in print. It flags up what has been achieved so far, and what still needs to be done.' - Oral History 'The editors of this book, written by a range of authors form the UK and overseas, set out to provide the reader with an understanding of the ways in which people with learning disabilities direct their lives through advocacy. Its strength lies in the way in which it puts to the forefront the voices of those who have been, and still might be, excluded from society if it were not for the different forms of resistance they have engaged in.' - Professional Social Work 'The accounts are all of acts of resistance and survival, many of them told by the people themselves. This creates another fascinating book which contributes greatly to an appreciation of the role of people with learning difficulties themselves in the historical struggle for better treatment in society.' - CommunityLiving 'This book explains how people with learning disabilities have become increasingly able to direct their own lives as fully active members of their communities. It also explains what self-advocacy means for these people and it shows how opportunities and services have changed for them in 10 years.' - Europe for Us! 'Heartbreaking, touching and at times inspirational, this book introduces us to the people who have been oppressed, the system that oppressed them and the individuals who stood up to them...Read this if you are involved in supporting people and you will find yourself addressing your practice and attitudes and ultimately, improving the quality of care you deliver.' - Community Care 'The accounts are all of acts of resistance and survival, many of them told by the people themselves. This creates another fascinating book which contributes greatly to an appreciation of the role of people with learning difficulties themselves in the historical struggle for better treatment in society.' - Community Living Exploring Experiences of Advocacy by People with Learning Disabilities charts the course through which people with learning disabilities have become increasingly able to direct their own lives as fully active members of their communities. Accounts from the UK, Australia, Canada and Iceland consider both the individual pioneers of self advocacy and local and national groups that have been set up to work actively towards improved services for people with learning disabilities. The book also examines what self-advocacy means for these people and provides an overview of how opportunities and services have changed for them over the decades. Many of the personal accounts, photographs and songs included in this book will be accessible and encouraging to people with learning disabilities, and they will provide inspiring reading for professionals who work with them, family members and community and government service providers.

This reflective and evidence-based book will equip students as well as professionals who work with people with learning disabilities in primary, secondary and specialist healthcare settings, with the knowledge and skills they need to work effectively with people with learning disabilities. Chapters - written by leading academics and practitioners in the learning disabilities field - examine and discuss core issues, while a case-study approach ensures a solid grounding in practical skills. This practical element is further reinforced by the inclusion of service-user and practitioner ′voices′, whose lived experiences make the book even more engaging, as well as a range of reflective exercises and regular opportunities for readers to self-audit their learning. Reflecting the multi-professional nature of services for people with learning disabilities, this book will help practitioners and students make a real difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities who access health and social care environments.