Here is what Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is doing for Learning Disability Week

Learning Disabilities Week takes place this week and is a chance to share stories and experiences of people with learning disabilities to enable us to improve the support available to these individuals.

Learning disability nurses at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals have organised events including an Introduction to Autism workshop to get people talking about what it is like to live with a learning disability and how others can provide support to those with learning disabilities. The team has also introduced a Learning Disability and Autism Work Group for staff to come together to improve the care that they provide to patients; and developed a referral decision aid to ensure that any patient with a learning disability receives the right care and treatment for them.

A learning disability affects the way that a person is able to understand information and how they can communicate. This may result in difficulties understanding new or complex information, learning new skills or coping independently.

According to NHS England, around 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability and around 350,000 people have a severe learning disability. Learning disabilities such as Down’s syndrome are diagnosed at birth, but others are discovered later on.

Katie Birch, Learning Disabilities Nurse at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “We are working together to make our hospitals a better place for people with learning disabilities. We want to work with our staff and our communities to gather ideas and opinions and ultimately improve the support that is available to them.”