Sherwood Forest Hospital Foundation Trust – Reasonable adjustments and more for patients with a learning disability

Sponsored byalamac-logo-CMYK-coated

When staff at Sherwood Forest Hospital FT compared primary care registers of people with known learning difficulties to the registers held by the trust, something became immediately clear: theirs contained significantly fewer people.

Cue a pilot scheme with local clinical commissioning groups to address the mismatch. The idea is to increase the trust’s knowledge of patients with LDs, and so make it easier for appropriate adjustments to be made: accessible appointment letters, calls ahead of time so appointments can be planned, and offering support to carers.

Particular attention has been given to making sure individuals don’t get “lost” when they transition from children’s to adults services. There has also been focus on giving more support to people with LD when they are having children of their own.

As well as developing more accurate registers, the trust has also bolstered training on LD. Previously, this was just a simple online workbook. Today, information on learning disability is part of mandatory training.

Since the introduction of the project, non-attendance rates for outpatient appointments have fallen; experience for people with learning disabilities improved; and more people with LD are returning home as part of a complete family unit after giving birth.

Overall, the belief is that more people are now receiving a more equitable service, with the support that they, their carers and their loved ones need.

Read a detailed case study about this project at HSJ Solutions

Finalists

  • South East Coast Ambulance Service FT – Intelligence-based information system on iPads – HIGHLY COMMENDED
  • Age UK South Gloucestershire with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG – Personalised Integrated Care Service
  • Aire Logic and Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust – PPM+, a shared electronic health record platform
  • Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG – Reducing clinical variation through the use of a GP dashboard
  • Health & Care IMPACT Network – NHSquicker
  • Imperial College Health Partners, Oxford Healthcare Improvement/Oxford AHSN Patient Safety Collaborative, Wessex Patient Safety Collaborative, The Patient Safety Measurement Unit, and Hampshire Hospitals FT – The Suspicion of Sepsis Dashboard
  • NEL commissioning support unit: FGM London and Nationwide Intervention Programme
  • NIHR Clinical Research Network, business intelligence team – The nation’s research data at the click of a mouse
  • Northumbria Healthcare FT – Sharing data to support safe and efficient patient discharge

 

 

 

Topics

Winners of 2018 HSJ Awards revealed