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We are committed to equality in care for all patients and want to support patients with learning disabilities and/or autism and ensure they receive person-centred care during their hospital visit.
- Address: Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital,
What we do
There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability and 700,000 autistic people in the UK (more than one in 100).
Many of these people experience difficulties accessing healthcare, especially when unwell.
We want to support our patients with learning disabilities and/or autism and ensure they receive the best level of care.
Our aim is to provide person-centred care to everyone, to avoid making assumptions about patients, and to listen to them and their families.
Get in touch
To support our patients and their families, we have a Learning Disability Liaison Nurse, Becky Hankin, who can be contacted by calling the switchboard on 01622 729000.
Links and resources
Easy read leaflets
Our patient information library has easy read leaflets to help people with learning disabilities have a better understanding of their hospital stay, their care and treatment.
Autism Communication Passport
The My health passport is designed to help autistic people to communicate their needs to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. It should be taken to any healthcare appointments and given to your healthcare professional.
The passport has questions which are to be answered by the patient or their carer before accessing our services. It should be read at the beginning of an appointment or before a patient is assessed, and then kept with the notes if a patient is an inpatient.
If you need help completing the passport or if you have any other questions, email mtw-tr.edi@nhs.net.
Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects how people perceive, communicate and interact with others.
Autism varies widely because of the range of ways it can impact on people and the different level of support they may need across their lives. People may need help with: forming friendships, coping at school, managing at work, getting out and about in the community.
While autism is not a learning disability, around 4 in 10 autistic people have a learning disability.
Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently from other people. Anyone can experience sensory overload but people with a learning disability, autism, dementia or some mental health conditions are more likely to experience it.
Learning disability
A learning disability is a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and to learn new skills (impaired intelligence) and a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning).
These are in evidence before adulthood and have a lasting effect on development.
- On average 1,200 people with a learning disability in the UK die avoidably each year.
- On average the life expectancy of men with a learning disability is 13 years shorter when compared with men in the general population.
- On average the life expectancy of women with a learning disability is 20 years shorter when compared with women in the general population.
Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme
The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme is is the first national programme of its kind aimed at making improvements to the lives of people with learning disabilities. Reviews are being carried out to help improve the standard and quality of care for people with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities, their families and carers have been central to developing and delivering the programme.