Acute care liaison nursing team
Who is the service for?
Our district general hospital nursing team support people with learning disabilities who are over 18. They help people who are either using the services of an district general hospital as an inpatient or an outpatient, as well as people with epilepsy being treated by the Neurology Department. Although we are an adult service we will support people, where possible, to ensure a smooth transition to adult services within the hospital.
How do you access the service?
The District General Hospital Teams accept referrals from anyone - the individual, wards, carers, families, GP’s, other healthcare professions.
The epilepsy nurses receive their referrals from neurology consultants.
Hours
We usually offer a 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Friday service, but may be able to offer specific support that falls outside of these hours on occasions.
Conditions we treat
We support the treatment of epilepsy and also any conditions that result in a hospital stay in an acute hospital.
Preparing to go to hospital
Going into hospital is a worrying time for any of us. It can be even harder for someone who has a learning disability.
Hospital passports
A hospital passport is a document about you and your health needs. It also contains other useful information, such as your interests, likes, dislikes and preferred method of communication.
Hospital passports can be very useful if you have to go into hospital. As well as giving hospital staff details about your health, the other useful information can help staff make you feel more comfortable.
Please complete the passport before coming in to hospital and hand it to the first professional you meet when arriving at hospital
Download and complete your hospital passport.
Further information
If you're looking after an adult or child with a learning disability, NHS Choices provides tips to make a hospital stay go smoothly.
What can you expect?
We work within mainstream services supporting the patient with a learning disability in a ward or department that they are attending. We can offer help with pre visits to the hospital to reduce anxiety on the day of the appointment.
Assessment
Our team will complete an initial assessment to find out what help and support the person will need.
Care and treatment
We will support staff in the acute hospital in developing a Care Plan which includes reasonable adjustments. This will include the application of the Mental Capacity Act.
Discharge
We will support staff in the acute hospital in developing a Discharge Plan, where possible, which includes reasonable adjustments. This will include the application of the Mental Capacity Act.
Who you will see?
When you are referred, you will see a nurse from the Learning Disability Acute Care Liaison Team, who will come and meet you on the ward, outpatient department or as part of the neurology team.
Getting involved
We are keen to make sure that people who use our services are offered the opportunity to be involved in helping improve the services we provide. Please let us know if you would like to help or have some good ideas to share with us.
