A specialist Health Day event for people with a learning disability or autism has been held at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital to help patients feel less anxious ahead of their hospital appointment.
‘Our Health Day’ was set up by the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Learning Disabilities team to make it easier for people with a learning disability or autism to understand their patient journey and know what to expect when they attend an appointment in our outpatient department, visit our emergency department or when they’re admitted to a ward in one of our hospitals.
Chief Executive, Kevin McGee and Chief Nursing, Midwifery and AHP Officer, Sarah Cullen were on hand to give attendees a warm welcome, as were Leyland Ward staff and colleagues from several of our specialist teams including audiology, A&E, oral care, healthy eating, PALS and ophthalmology.
The event was co-delivered by self-advocates with lived experience from We Are People First, with Stephen Smith opening the event alongside Kevin McGee.
The event was supported by local partners from Lancashire Learning Disability Partnership Board, Healthwatch, Lancashire Care NHS FT and the Learning Disability Mortality Review (LeDeR) team and attendees were invited to visit a range of interactive stalls and chat to teams, enjoy some chair-based exercises with our physio team and listen to special talks from teams including the PALS team.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Chief Executive, Kevin McGee welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. He said: “We’ve not done an event like this since 2019 and to get everyone here together is fantastic. We recognise that being in hospital is a scary place, no matter who you are or what experience you’ve had. Our staff are lovely and professional, but what they do can be scary. Today is about trying to debunk some of the myths and show people what actually happens in our hospitals.”
For more information on the support available to people with a learning disability or autism, please contact our learning disabilities team at: LearningDisabilityService@lthtr.nhs.uk
