Celebrating 100 years of learning disability nursing

We’ve been talking to some of the dedicated nurses at the Trust to find out more about what their job involves

This year learning disability nursing will have been a recognised specialty for 100 years. Nurses support people with learning disabilities, usually as part of a multi-disciplinary team, working on inpatient wards, in the community and in specialist supported living services. Together the nursing team, with the help of their colleagues, help service users to lead their lives as fully and independently as possible.

We’ve been talking to nurses who work in four different parts of the service to find out more about what their job involves and what they enjoy most about being a learning disability nurse.

Christina Edwards, Advanced Nurse Practitioner for Community Learning Disability Services, St Mary’s Hospital

Christina qualified as a Nurse for People with Learning Disabilities in 2006. “I have always found my job rewarding, being able to help someone achieve their goals. I am proud to have been involved in inpatient services, watching a service user’s journey from admission, through treatment and discharge back to a community setting. I am also proud to have been in the team of nurses who discharged the last ‘long term’ service users from our inpatient services into community based care.”

So, what improvements in care has Christina seen over the years? “I have seen a lot of changes over my 12 year post qualification both in inpatient and community based care. There have been changes in the law, and changes in attitudes towards individuals with learning disabilities. Care provided is now much more focussed on the person and about the individual’s goals rather than service goals.”

What about the future? “I would like to see more understanding of learning disabilities in the wider population and how nurses for people with learning disabilities support people – as our role is much different to nurses in other areas.”

Julie Royle-Evatt, Clinical Team Manager, Health Facilitation Team, St Mary’s Hospital

The Health Facilitation Team advises health service providers on how to make reasonable adjustments when meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities in mainstream settings.

Julie explains “For example, a surgeon may be treating someone with a physical problem and may need support to engage with the service user in a different way so that the treatment can be undertaken successfully. Our team would provide advice and training to help support them, ensuring that the service user has a smooth and relatively stress-free pathway through Leeds healthcare services.

“It’s very satisfying to know that we are passing on lifelong skills, supporting the development of professionals and carers.”

“The Team started in 2017 and we have trained over 1000 people in that time – from GPs and hospital staff through to carers in Leeds community services. Since we relaunched our website in August we have received 10,000 hits – it’s really important that carers are able to access resources 24/7.”

Emily Davison, Senior Nurse, Challenging Behaviour Respite, St Mary’s Hospital

Emily works as a Senior Nurse at 3 Woodland Square which provides respite stays for service users with challenging behaviour.

“I love working as a Registered Nurse for Learning Disabilities (RNLD) as each working day is different. Work can be extremely challenging but rewarding as the work we do with our service users can improve their quality of life and also have a great impact on their families and carers. When service users access respite we aim to provide them with enjoyable activities such as arts and crafts, cinema nights and day trips as well as supporting them to their usual day support services. Respite should be an enjoyable break for both the service user and those who care for them.”

“The learning disability nursing team within the Trust is incredibly passionate both about the work they carry out as well as the sustainability and future of learning disability nursing.”

Lindsey Hoather is the ward manager for Parkside Lodge, an 8 bed hospital unit, and 3 Woodland Square, a respite service at St Mary’s Hospital

She says “Our team of professionals aim to support individuals to overcome difficulties which may be preventing them from being able to achieve their potential or engage in their daily lives and support them to access less specialist and restrictive services.”

So how did she start her career in learning disability nursing? ”I began working in learning disabilities as a support worker with adults who had profound and multiple impairments and felt a sense of honour to be able to bring comfort and warmth into someone else’s life.”

“Studying to become a learning disability nurse was the best decision I have ever made. From my first day as a student, every person I’ve worked with since has taught me something about nursing and about myself. I feel so lucky and humbled to have met so many wonderful service users and staff.”

What does Lindsey’s day to day job involve? “I see my role now as a leader, promoting good practice through role modelling, education and reflection. I have such pride in the staff team within the services and love being able to support others grow and develop their skills.”

“I strongly believe that a staff team who feel valued and supported will deliver the best possible care to our service users and that’s what it’s all about.”

The Trust employs 54 registered learning disability nurses working in an array of services – Inpatient, the Community and also the Specialist Supported Living Service.