Learning disability nurses are qualified nurses with additional training, knowledge, and skills to help people with learning disabilities manage their health. They work with individuals, families, and carers to help them live fulfilling lives. Learning disability nurses support the physical, mental, emotional, psychological, educational, spiritual and social needs of a person with learning disabilities from early years to the end of life.
What Do They Do?
Learning disability nurses are part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) and work in various settings, including the community and hospitals. They life ensure to make their life better and do many things such as:
- Help people with learning disabilities live independently.
- Provide information and support for people with learning disabilities to manage their health.
- Help people with learning disabilities access health services, treatment, and therapy (psychology, occupational therapy, or speech and language therapists).
- Help people with learning disabilities learn skills to find work.
- Provide health education adapted to each individual’s cognitive ability.
- Work with people with learning disabilities across their lifespan.
What Is Their Role?
Learning disability nurses have flexible roles and need to acquire a wide range of knowledge, skills, and values that they will use to help adults and children with physical and mental health issues. Here are some key aspects of the learning disability nurse role that show what they do.
Advanced communication skills
Learning disability nurses are creative communicators with advanced communication skills. They use a variety of skills and resources, such as signs, pictures, and symbols, to ensure that disabled people can read and listen easily.
Serve all ages
They work with people of all ages, including young children and older adults, maternity services, end-of-life care, and everything in between.
Sometimes, they can work with people long-term and know a person and their families and/or supporters.
A person-centred approach
A learning disability nurse ensures that the person focuses on everything they do, such as their wishes, hopes, dreams, and desires, that provide support.
Advocacy and activism
Learning disability nurses are the voice of disabled people and ensure their human rights are protected.
Make a difference
Learning disability nurses can greatly improve a person’s situation and provide support. They always act in the person’s best interest and make adjustments. They also communicate well to coordinate care, treatment, and services with good experience.
Innovation
Learning disability nurses are problem solvers. They can find new and creative ways to remove obstacles or hurdles in the person’s path.
The Field of All Fields
Learning disability nursing is often called “the field of all fields”. This is because they can work with people of all ages in different circumstances, including children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Learning disability nursing can work in areas such as palliative care, mental health, physical disabilities and the criminal justice system. They work in settings such as schools, hospitals and the community, opening up many opportunities for people with learning disabilities. Here are five areas where learning disability nurses support people:
1-Learning disability nurse
Learning disability nurses usually work in a hospital, ensuring patients with learning disabilities have the same access to healthcare as anyone else. They ensure that a patient’s learning disability does not prevent them from engaging with the treatment they need to receive. People with learning disabilities may not understand why they are at the hospital, what they’re being treated for or what their treatment options are. They also might have physical difficulty in going to the hospital. Going to the hospital or a prolonged stay in the hospital can be a distressing situation; here, learning disability nurses play their role and provide care and support.
2-Child and adolescent mental health services
Learning disability nurses also support children and adolescents with their families out in the community. Children with special needs have challenging behaviour, which is the only way they can communicate their pain or distress. Learning disability nurses use their observational and communication skills to determine the root cause of this behaviour. They teach other ways to communicate and reduce external/environmental stressors. They support young people and their families in managing the co-existence of a learning disability and a mental health condition within the family and school setting.
3-Mental health nurse
Commonly, most people receive a dual diagnosis of a learning disability and a mental health condition. This is often accompanied by communication difficulties. Talking therapies are considered the most beneficial therapy for treating mental health issues. People with learning disabilities need to be able to access a specialist nurse who can use their communication skills and resources to improve the patient’s communication level. They also make appropriate adjustments to ensure the treatment is successful. Part of a learning disability nurse’s role is to find ways to remove communication barriers and ensure people can access the therapy they need for their mental health.
4-Forensics
Learning disability nurses can work in specialist community forensic nursing teams. They help people with learning disabilities who have gone through the criminal justice system. Learning disability nurses work with people undergoing evidence-based psychological interventions in multidisciplinary care environments. Patients will have been assessed as they require treatment under conditions within a highly secure environment. Many will have come via the Criminal Justice System. Most admissions will be under Part III of the Mental Health Act, either from the court, prison or a medium security unit.
5-Community Nursing
Learning disability nurses can also work as community nurses, acting as autonomous practitioners and managing their caseloads. They can also work as specialist nurses and support people with learning disabilities in the community. They play specialist roles, such as epilepsy or challenging behaviour specialist nurses. Learning disability nurses are essential to helping people in this situation to live with the best health possible in the community. They would liaise with other professionals within multidisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive care and improve their lives.
Of course, these five things are just a small percentage of the roles learning disability nurses can play to support the health and well-being of some of the most marginalised members of our communities.