As part Learning Disability Week, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) welcomed a group of people with learning disabilities to Tunbridge Wells Hospital on 17 June, giving them an insight into what might happen when visiting a hospital.

Many of the guests had previous negative experiences in hospital, or were anxious about needing to attend one. Hosted alongside local learning disability charity, Aspens, the event gave the visitors the opportunity to enjoy a positive experience of attending hospital, and provide reassurance should they need to attend one in the future.

The group met with a number of teams including doctors and nurses from wards 30 and 31, physios, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists, radiologists, Emergency Department staff, and colleagues from the Trust’s Chaplaincy and the Patient Experience team.

They learned all about the different aspects of each role, including what all the different uniforms mean, and were also able to see the X-ray machine and CT scanner, try therapy equipment and do a swallowing test.

Speaking after the event, MTW’s Learning Disability Liaison Nurse, Becky Hankin, said: “We have had fantastic feedback from Aspens, who were overwhelmed with how welcome they were made to feel and how kind everyone was.

“The event has really helped them understand what the different teams do in the hospital, and who might help them when they are a patient.

“This has helped reduce their anxieties about coming to hospital, and has reassured them that as people with learning disabilities, their needs can be understood and met in the acute environment.”

Hosted by Mencap, Learning Disability Week runs every year in the third week of June, and celebrates everything people with learning disabilities bring to society, while also calling out the barriers they face day-to-day.