Learning Disability and Transforming Care
Transforming care is a national programme led by NHS England which is all about improving health and care services so that more people with learning disabilities and/or autism can live in the community, with the right support, close to home and have the same opportunities as anyone else.
New ways of working are being established to help families get the right help at the right time. One example of this is a greater focus on the Care-Co-ordination role to help families access and understand the offers of support available to them across health and social care systems.
The programme of work will ensure that families are:
– getting the support they need to live long and healthy lives
– being treated with the same dignity and respect
– having a home within their community
– being able to develop and maintain relationships
– getting the support they need for to have a healthy, safe and fulfilling life
An easy read document about the NHS Plan, Building the Right Support, 2015 explains the programme and how it will support you.
Education and Health Care Plans
Health, education and social care partners are working hard to work together to share pathways and processes that work together and are easier to understand. An Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) will help families work with professionals based on an assessment of individual need.
Annual Health Check
If you are aged between 14 and 25 and are on your doctors learning disability register you should be invited to an annual health check.
Annual health checks are a really good way for 14-18 year olds to get to know their GP and familiarise themselves with the GP surgery to allay any fears, making it more likely that you will attend when something is wrong in the future. It’s a great opportunity to ensure that you’re on your GP’s Learning Disability register and that your GP gets all the information that they need from your school nurse and /or paediatrician to support you into adulthood.
You need to know that from the age of 18, your GP will be responsible for your care instead of your Paediatric Consultant.
Annual health checks can also prevent unplanned hospital admissions by picking up conditions early, a typical annual health check will find between 2-5 conditions which in turn can reduce pain and challenging behaviour and improve your health and quality of life. So don’t miss out, get checked out.
At your annual health check your GP will:
– Review your medication.
– Ask you general questions about your health.
– Take your blood pressure, weight and measure your height.
– Check your ears for wax.
– Make sure you are up to date with cancers screenings.
– Take a blood and urine sample.
Care Education and Treatment Reviews
Where children or young people are at risk of a hospital admission a Care Education and Treatment Review (CETR) may be called by the family or professional. When a CETR is called this means that the family and professionals all get together to review the needs and requirements of the young person and decide on the best next steps by working together. A clinical expert and a family member who has had similar experiences from another area will be present to help planning with fresh eyes.
| Easy Read CETR Guidance
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Improving Health Care for learning disabilities and autism  |
Continuing Care
An NHS continuing care package may be offered when a child or young person under 18 years of age has needs arising from disability, accident or illness that cannot be met by existing mainstream / universal, targeted or specialist services alone but require regular and planned complex intervention.
