2011 Big Health Service Check

The Big Health Service Check happens every year. It looks at how good our local health services are at helping people with a learning disability.

This year we asked people to fill in a questionnaire telling us what they thought about local health services. People with a learning disability, their carers and support staff could all fill in a questionnaire if they wanted to.

People told us what they thought about local health services and how good they are at helping people with a learning disability. We asked about GP surgeries, the hospital, and advice & support to choose and cook health food, and be more active.

We wrote a report about what people told us. There are two versions of the report – one has all the information written in it and is not easy read, and one is an easy read report.

• BHSC 2011 - feed back from questionnaires
  
• BHSC 2011 - feed back easy read
  

A big THANK YOU to everyone who took part in this year’s Big Health Service Check!

Some of the evidence we sent to the Health Authority as part of our Big Health Services Check is at the end of this page and information about last year's Big Health Services Check is there also.

Below is the full version of the Learning Disabilities Self Assessment Framework Report and presentation to the Joint Commissioning Board in November 2011

What we do

The Healthy Lives group does work to make sure that people with learning disabilities have the same access to health services as everyone else in Brighton & Hove. Health services are things like doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies (or chemists), and dentists.

The people in the Healthy Lives group are from local learning disability services, and local health services.

Important reports like ‘Death By Indifference’ and ‘Health Care For All’ help us to think about what work we need to do. We want to make sure people with learning disabilities are given the right support to be as healthy as possible.

These are some of the things we are working on now:

• Encouraging doctors to do health checks and health action plans for people with learning disabilities
• Giving training to doctors and people who work in doctors surgeries to help them give a good service to people
• Working with local hospitals to help the people that work there to get better at supporting people with learning disabilities
• Working with local mental health services to make sure people with learning disabilities get the right support from the right place
• Working with staff and family carers so they can support people to be healthy

These are some of the things we want to work on in the future:

• Do more of the things we are doing already!
• Look at what information about health and being healthy is available for people with learning disabilities and the people who might help to look after them
• Get better information about people with learning disabilities and their health so we can plan what help and services people might need
• Do more training about learning disabilities with health services like pharmacies, stop smoking and sexual health services

Six Lives progress report

Sir David Nicholson and Anne Williams wrote letters about the report

The Six Lives report is on the Department of Health Website and there is an easy read version of the report there too.

Health Checks In GP Practices

All the GP practices in the City are now doing a health check every year for people who have a learning disability.

Every GP practice that is doing this gets some training from the Health Facilitator. The training helps them understand more about people who have a learning disability and how to help them.

Information about Health Action Plans and GP Practices:

• Health Check & Health Action Plan leaflet
• How to Get Health Checks and Health Action Plans in Brighton
• A Step by Step Guide to Annual Health Checks
• Health Assessment Booklet
• Health Facilitator annual report 10-11 FINAL

Learning Disability Liaison Nursing Team

Linda Moore, Alice Ellis and Helen Howell are the three Liaison Nurses for people with Learning Disabilities. They work with all Brighton and Sussex University sites including the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

The Learning Disability Liaison Team provide active support, education and advice for professionals, acute hospital staff, the patient and their family during all types of hospital visits including planning for hospital admissions, outpatient appointments, planned surgery and A+ E admissions.

The Team are based on the BSUH site at Southpoint, 8 Paston Place

Telephone: 01273 696955 ext. 4975.

Their office hours are Mon-Fri 8.30-4.30.

Information about Hospital Liaison Team:

• Leaflet Learning Disability Liaison Team
• Liaison Team Presentation 2011
• Brighton Hospital Passport
• Hospital Resource Pack
• Hospital book section one
• Hospital book section two

Previous Years' Big Health Services Checks

2010

The 2010 Big Health Service Check was in October of 2010.

People with learning disabilities, and the people who support them, told us what they think of health services for people with learning disabilities. 

Big Health Check 2010 - this documents tells you what we did for the Big Health Services Check in 2010

2010 Return Brighton and Hove - this is our report that tells how our health services are doing

2009

The Big Health Check in November 2009 was part of our Health Self Assessment Framework and Annual Health Check Up

All the different people and groups who work in health services work together to make those services better for people with Learning Disabilities.

In the Big Health Check we checked on 4 “Top Targets”.  These are:

1. Make sure campus homes are closed by 2010 and that people who lived in long stay hospitals have all moved

2. Make sure people with learning disabilities can use the same health services, and get as good a service, as everyone else

3. Make sure people are safe in our health services and that the service is learning from mistakes in the past

4. Make sure we are doing the things that Valuing People Now says will help people’s health

You can read the Brighton & Hove 2009 Big Health Check report to find out how we do locally

Valuing People Now mentions Brighton & Hove

Valuing People Now was released by the Department of Health on 19th January. On page 74 Brighton & Hove’s Liaison Nurses are mentioned as an example of good practice:

Learning Disability Development Fund

In past years the Learning Disability Partnership Board has given money from the Learning Disability Development Fund to projects that help people have healthy lives.

Here are reports from the 2009/10 projects:

• 2009-10 Health Action Plan Project
• 2009-10 Health Transitions Project
• Health Transitions - final report July 2010

Here is the report from the 2008/09 project: 2008-09 - Health Action Plan Project

Healthy Lives Group Membership

Healthy Lives Group Chair and Representative to the Partnership Board:

Cameron Brown - Manager of the Community Learning Disability Team

Sub Group members:

• Chris Bland - Deputy Director Grace Eyre Foundation
• Chris Storey - Southdown Housing Association
• Natalie Winterton - Health Facilitator, Community Learning Disability Team
• Jo Lee - Senior Physiotherapist, CLDT
• Alistair Hill - Consultant in Public Health from Brighton & Hove City Primary Care Trust
• Cath Scott Modern Matron – Lead Community Learning Disability Nurse
• Diana Bernhardt - Lead Commissioner for Learning Disabilities
• David Warner -CLDT Physiotherapy Team Manager
• Learning Disability Liaison Team

Useful web sites and documents:

has a page to help you find other health service in the city

Consent - a guide for people with learning disabilities this guide is published by the Department of Health

DOLS easy read is an easy to read booklet from the Department of Health about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

has lots of information about health and health services specifically for people with a learning disability. Most of the resources are free to download, and it handy for service users, staff, family carers, etc. The project was part funded by the Department of Health, and is quite well known amongst health networks

Health Jargon Buster

Mencap's Getting it Right campaign aims to improve health care for people with a learning disability.

MCA easy read is an easy to read booklet from the Department of Health about the Mental Capacity Act

NHS Choices has generic health service information on the easy read pages

Oral health general advice - Brighton & Hove

Oral health dysphagia - Brighton & Hove

Oral health dentures few teeth - Brighton & Hove

Potatoes at 12 O'clock is a summary of the findings of a survey which was carried out in February 2011 and which provides staff in care homes in Brighton and Hove with information and ideas which will help them continue to improve both nutrition and hydration.

SeeAbility’s information website, Look Up, provides adults with a learning disability, carers, eye care professionals and health and social care staff with a wealth of information about eye care and vision for people with learning disabilities.
SeeAbility has also produced a “Best Practice Guide: Enhanced eye tests for people with a learning disability”

Evidence for the 2011 Big Health Services Checks

This is where we will put some of the things we are sending as part of our Big Health Services Check

• 2010 Return Brighton and Hove
• BHSC 2011 - feed back from service users and carers report
• BHSC 2011 - feed back easy read
• BHSC 2011 - GP data report
• Sussex Partnership Trust single equality scheme - includes action plans across all protected characteristics
• Sussex Partnership Trust learning disability consultation
• Sussex Partnership Trust Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments (at bottom of that page)
• With regard to Sussex Partnership Trust staff and service user data see the latest annual equality and human rights report
• Sussex Partnership Trust have also prepared specific protected characteristic reports for disability