‘M.E. time’: meaningful engagement for people with a learning disability in secondary care
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

‘M.E. time’: meaningful engagement for people with a learning disability in secondary care

Gail Elwell Health liaison nurse, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Learning Disability Directorate, Newport, Wales
Penny Hallas Art therapist and lead for Arts Therapies service, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Learning Disability Directorate, Newport, Wales

It is well known that people with learning disabilities face health inequalities and inequitable access to health services. Health liaison nurses (HLN), who are based in the community, work with other professionals to ensure the health needs of people with learning disabilities are met in both primary and secondary care. This article reports a small service improvement pilot project, M.E time, where an HLN worked with a patient with learning disabilities and physical health problems, her family, and a range of other professionals, to address her emotional and mental health needs while in hospital. The article describes how using digital technology helped reduce the patient’s feelings of isolation, and offered her a way of having ‘meaningful engagement’ with ward staff and her environment. The patient, Karen, her family and staff involved have given consent for the authors to share the work.

Learning Disability Practice. 19, 9, 35-38. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2016.e1792

Correspondence

gail.elwell@wales.nhs.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 12 August 2016

Accepted: 19 September 2016

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more