Simon Jones

Learning disability nursing under threat despite being needed more than ever

Being a learning disability nurse at the moment is a bit like being a crew member on the Titanic except we can see the iceberg ahead, argues Simon Jones

'Diagnostic overshadowing' and a lack of continuity are behind many care...

Advocating effective communication on a patient's behalf can be tricky in learning disability nursing, but putting a support plan in place will benefit all, writes Simon Jones

St Andrew's Hospital

Channel 4’s Under Lock and Key: exposing the reality beneath the rhetoric

A TV documentary has highlighted the heartbreaking realities of a failing commitment to provide appropriate community care for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Hospital passport

All nurses should be prepared to make reasonable adjustments for patients with learning...

Paying attention to a hospital passport can make all the difference when caring for people with learning disabilities.

Emotions

Changing lives through happiness

How prioritising the person and what makes them happy has transformed the lives of eight hard-to-help residents with learning disabilities in supported living accommodation

Changing lives through happiness

How prioritising the person and what makes them happy has transformed the lives of eight hard-to-help residents with learning disabilities in supported living accommodation.

Out of area and bottom of agenda

The recommendations in the Mansell reports published first in 1993 and updated in 2007 have not been implemented, despite the scandal at Winterbourne View and its aftermath. There is now nationwide awareness of the plight of people with learning disabilities placed in out-of-area specialist inpatient hospitals, yet only about 5% of them have been moved to independent accommodation over the past year. This article studies why Mansell’s recommendations have not been put into practice and explains why challenging behaviour should be seen as a symptom of underlying problems, not as the focus of community learning disability team attention. It concludes that strategies, such as positive behaviour support and person-centred active support, may enable clients to achieve maximum levels of independence and participation.