We are listening - information & communication needs

Jean,

Effective communication and information exchange is essential within all healthcare settings. Making sense of complex health environments and information can be challenging for us all. However, communication difficulties are a significant problem for many people with learning disabilities.

Many barriers are faced by people with learning disabilities in accessing services, including physical barriers, failure to make reasonable adjustments such as inflexible and short appointments, over reliance on literacy skills and negative attitudes and practitioner’s values.

Many people with learning disabilities have limited communication skills which impacts on others’ ability to understand their health needs. Both paid and family carers play a significant role in identifying health needs and it is important that healthcare workers listen to them and involve them in planning care. Many people with more severe learning disabilities rely completely on others to communicate what their health needs are.

Communication difficulties are fundamental to explaining many of the barriers and poorer outcomes people with learning disabilities can experience when using health services. Many healthcare workers have never had training in the kind of communication methods and techniques that facilitate appropriate access to services. In addition many healthcare professionals rely on individuals reporting symptoms and ill health.

The NHS Lanarkshire Learning Disability Service has worked with people who have a learning disability, advocacy services and various health professionals to develop a variety of resources, such as health screening or treatments and investigations which are all available on www.healthelanarkshire.co.uk

The website provides information in Easy read format, video links and templates that healthcare workers may find useful for communicating with people.

http://www.healthelanarkshire.co.uk/

We will be raising awareness and signposting to the website during 2018 so please share this blog or the web link with as many people as possible over the next few months.  We would welcome any suggestions on future health information that needs to be developed in an easy read format.

If you’d like to give some feedback or get in touch, please speak to a member of staff, respond on Care Opinion, or visit the “Your Feedback” Section of the NHS Lanarkshire website to see the other ways to get in touch www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk