We are committed to supporting people with Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodiversity.
At Lancashire Teaching Hospital Trust we are committed to providing outstanding individualised care. It is crucial that our patients have positive experiences and feel safe. We want our patients to feel listened to and have confidence in the knowledge and skills of our staff.
The Learning Disabilities and Autism Practitioner can support patients, families, carers and specialist teams during your journey through the hospital.
We can support you to link with departments to consider reasonable adjustments, to provide person centred care and support the use of resources such as the Hospital Passport. This may include working closely with multi-agency partners including the Local Authority , Community Learning Disability services and other Acute Trusts.
We continue to focus on service developments within the Trust to guide the delivery of excellent care for patients with a diagnosis of Learning Disability or Neurodiversity.
Referrals can be made either by contacting the team via email or telephone, details below:
Phone: 01772 523676
Email: LearningDisabilityServiceLTH@lthtr.nhs.uk
Hours available: Mon- Fri 9am-5pm.
Meet the Team
Andrea Hardyman - Matron - Mental Health, Learning Disability, Autism and Dementia
Katie Birch - Learning Disability and Autism Practitioner
What is a Hospital Passport?
A Hospital Passport is a resource for people with additional support needs in particular patients with Learning Disability, Autism or Special Educational Needs (SEND) and can be used in any healthcare setting such as Hospitals, Clinics, GP’s Surgeries and Dental Practices.
It provides valuable information including personal details, the type of medication a person is taking and any health conditions they have. The passport also includes information about how a person communicates, what reasonable adjustments a person might need and their likes and dislikes. Having this information can ensure we are able to provide specific individualised care for patients, that takes into account any requirements they have which allows them to access appropriate healthcare.
Hospital Passports should be filled in by the individual, but anyone can support them, for example, family, carers, friends, health professionals, provided they understand the individual’s needs. Once completed a Hospital Passport is kept and owned by the individual as it is their personal plan. It should follow the patient and be a working active document that can be updated as needed. A copy may also be sent to the LTHTR Learning Disability Team at LearningDisabilityServiceLTH@LTHTR.nhs.uk.
Hospital Passports come in many different forms but if needed a copy of the LTHTR Hospital Passport can be downloaded below.
Reasonable Adjustments
Reasonable adjustments are simple and small changes that organisations have to make to ensure that everyone, including people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity, have equal access to health care. Every person is different, so the adjustments will differ from person to person.
Reasonable adjustments could include:
- Providing longer appointments, providing additional time or flexability during appointments.
- Making changes to the way things are organised or processed to support specific needs such as waiting times.
- Ensuring we use appropriate and preferred communication methods and tools such as hospital passports, communication aids and working alongside support networks.
- Making changes to the environment or physical features around you, such lighting or noise level.
- Providing or accommodating aids and services for you to overcome any disadvantage.
