Ensuring Rights and Responsibilities for People with Learning Disabilities

Ensuring rights and responsibilities for people with learning disabilities

 

Contents page:

 

Title: ……………………………………………………………………………………..1

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………….2

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….3

Aim ……………………………………………………………………………………….4

Situation………………………………………………………………………………….5

One Page-Profile………………………………………………………………………..6

Method……………………………………………………………………………………7

Person Centred Plan……………………………………………………………………8

Roles of the nurse………………………………………………………………………9

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………10

Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….11

References………………………………………………………………………………12

Appendices……………………………………………………………………………..13

 

 

 

Summary

This one page profile will look at person centred planning care. The report will demonstrate the importance of using one page-profile which is used by service users with learning disability mainly when they visit healthcare services for example General Practitioners (GP), hospitals or walk-in centres. As stated by Sanderson, (2013) one-page profile is a one-page easy read in a simple summary to what is important to an individual and how the individual would want to be supported and how they communicate and make decisions.

However, service user’s personal information and such data and may be gathered exactly for the profile or hidden in other documents, such as a care plan (Sanderson, 2013). Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015) stated that people who receive care are to be treated as individuals and with respect.

However, there is considerable evidence that people with learning disabilities have poorer access to mainstream healthcare services than the general population (Disability Rights Commission 2006, Department of Health (DoH,2008), Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman 2009, Hanna et al 2011). In addition, individuals with learning disabilities who access services are likely to receive poor standards of care (Gibbs et al 2008, DH 2008, Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman 2009, Mencap 2012). Thus, Mencap, (2004) emphasised poor quality of care for individuals with learning disabilities received in primary and secondary care. Death by Indifference argued that it focused on medical and health decisions based on expectations about the individuals with learning disabilities and their apparent quality of life.

 

Introduction

This report will analyse the important of person centred care planning and explore the process of person centred care. The report will cover legal, ethical and professional vales that surrounds person centred care and policies that underpin the whole process of person-centred care.

In addition, the relationship between healthcare professionals’ and service users is vital because they create therapeutic atmosphere, especially when the team is effective (McCance, McCormack & Dewing, 2010). However, multidisciplinary teams are there on assisting and caring for individuals while collaborating (DH, 2012).

However, in learning disabilities there are barriers which most people do come across in delivering person centred care. According to (DoH, 2012) learning disability can be defined as a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills impaired intelligence with a reduced ability to cope independently and before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development.

Moreover, individuals with learning disabilities have long been side-lined and excluded from society not only regarding social issues but ultimately on choices about their own lives. Thus, the Human Rights Act (1998) stated the basic significant rights of individuals with learning disabilities and this has strengthened them in society. The White paper has placed great emphasis on the wishes of individuals with learning disabilities to be treated equally. In line with the Valuing people which added on to this issue and sets out intentions to challenge these concerns and set key values.

 

Aim

This report will examine how person-centred care was planned and the involvement of the student nurse in placement practice. The one-page profile discussed will be hospital passport which Lee takes when attending healthcare services. However, pseudonym will be used throughout this report. This agrees with the confidentiality of the individual’s privacy (NMC, 2015). However, to safeguard the service users’ character and to maintain privacy for him, the service users is known as Lee.

 

Situation

Lee is 19 years old with moderate learning disability, epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which affects Lee social interactions, communicating difficulties and challenging behaviour. However, Lee’s epilepsy is managed through medications. Lee attends college weekdays and stays at home with his parents and he has other two siblings in the house and a carer that comes to support Lee. Although Lee is more known to the hospital, and other health services codes of conduct, codes of ethics and capability standards must always be monitored in a professional manner by the learning disability nurse and other healthcare professionals (NMC, code of ethics, 2008 and NMC, code of conduct, 2008).

In addition, Lee gets agitated when he does not get what he wants at the time of request and if there are any changes to his normal routine. Lee will starts throwing things, kicking carers and attacks peers even at college. Lee can communicate in short sentences, one-word answers but cannot understand big words, long sentences and when carers speak fast, Lee will miss what is being said and carers always repeat to check understanding. However, communication is the process of using words, sounds, or behaviours to express ideas, thoughts feelings, or exchange information (Merriam-Webster, 2014). Thus, effective communication is essential to ensure high quality of care is an essential skill for nurses and healthcare professionals (Balandin & Hemsley,2008). However, communication difficulties are characteristic of individuals with learning disabilities and carers involved in Lee’s care should use different communication skills in order to support Lee. Thus, when student nurse was collecting information for hospital passport, both verbal and non-verbal skills were used to check understanding when questions were presented to Lee. When student nurse was carrying out the assessment for Lee, student nurse had to speak slowly using short sentences to make sure that Lee understood. Thus, (RCN, 2017) stated person centred care is about focusing care on the needs of the service users. It went on to say nurses are bound by ethical codes of conduct. In addition, these standards of performance are there to ensure nurses practice is fair, non-judgemental, respectful and non-prejudicial.

 

 

 

 

 

Hospital Passport