Caring for People with Learning Disabilities: A guide for non-specialist nurses - Softcover

Barber, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908625287 ISBN 13: 9781908625281

Verlag: Lantern Publishing Ltd, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

From the Foreword by Cecilia Anim (Royal College of Nursing UK President, 2015):

“…an enjoyable, touching and inspirational read for all those involved in the lives of people with learning disabilities”

The vast majority of student nurses, practising nurses and healthcare professionals are not learning disability specialists, but will still need to treat and care for patients with learning disabilities on a regular basis.

Caring for People with Learning Disabilities is a concise introduction to the subject which covers all aspects of the care and support of the learning disabilities patient, for the non-specialist. Written in a jargon-free style, the book has numerous practical examples and case studies to really help the reader frame the special requirements of the learning disabilities patient in the healthcare setting.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Chris Barber is a registered nurse (learning disabilities), qualifying as such in December 1989, and he holds an MEd from the University of Birmingham in special educational needs (autism). He has worked as a nurse, as a visiting lecturer in learning disability nursing at Birmingham City University, and for the eleven years up to 2021 as a full-time care-giver for his late wife. Chris is a parent of a young man who is on the autism spectrum, and he himself was diagnosed at the end of 2008 as being ‘high-functioning autistic’. Chris sits on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Nursing, the British Journal of Mental Health Nursing, and the British Journal of Health Care Assistants and has written a number of articles and papers on a wide variety of subjects including learning disabilities, care givers, spirituality and autism. He is the author of Autism and Asperger’s Conditions, published by Quay Books in 2011. 

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Caring for People with Learning Disabilities

A Guide for Non-Specialist Nurses

By Chris Barber

Lantern Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015 Chris Barber
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-908625-28-1

Contents

About the author, vi, 
Foreword, vii, 
Acknowledgements, viii, 
1 Introduction, 1, 
2 What is learning disability?, 9, 
3 Nursing support for those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, 21, 
4 Legislation, strategies and reports for those with a learning disability, 31, 
5 Medical care and support for those with a learning disability, 41, 
6 Learning disability and consent to treatment, 53, 
7 Learning disability and mental health, 67, 
8 Learning disability and forensic care, 77, 
9 Sexuality and people with a learning disability, 87, 
10 Ageing and those with a learning disability, 97, 
11 Dying, death and bereavement and people with a learning disability, 107, 
12 Care and support for those who are informal care givers, 117, 
13 Disability and carer discrimination, 129, 
14 Learning disability and spirituality, 139, 
15 The future and learning disability, 149, 
Glossary, 157, 
Resources, 159, 
Index, 163, 

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This book is intended for those health care assistants, nursing students and staff nurses who are not learning disability specialists but who, as a result of working with those who have a learning disability, would like to learn more about and understand learning disability as a condition and hence provide better care and support for those with a learning disability. As the following three boxes show, learning disability registered nurses are facing and are likely to continue to face a number of professional challenges. Consequently, the support that the non-learning disability specialist will be able to offer both those with a learning disability and learning disability nurses is likely to become increasingly important.

Indeed, given these professional challenges facing many learning disability nurses, it is possible for the non-specialist health care assistant (HCA), student nurse or staff nurse to come into their own here and make a significant and positive impact upon the care experienced by those who have a learning disability.

Why the need for another book on learning disability nursing, care and support? Indeed, is there a need?

This may seem to be a slightly odd way to open a new book which aims to support those who provide non-specialist nursing, health and social care support for those with learning disabilities, as there are a number of other books that will be useful in supporting and caring for both adults and children with learning disabilities. Mark Jukes (2009), Ian Peate and Debra Fearns (2006), Louise Clark and Peter Griffiths (2008) and Helena Priest and Michael Gibbs (2011) spring to mind here. There are also an increasing number of books about autism spectrum conditions that may be of use, including Barber (2011). However, the reason for this book is to provide the non-learning disability specialist care professional with practical suggestions, which are easy to both follow and implement, for supporting this client group. It is not the intention to replicate the contents of other books but to highlight areas that seem to 'fall between the cracks' and consequently are rarely if ever mentioned within other books: discrimination, spirituality, 'informal care givers' and sexuality, as well as dying, death and bereavement. Please, do not be put off by the occasional 'confrontational' comment that may be found within these pages. It is not meant to suggest that nursing care for those with a learning disability is poor; indeed, far from it! However, there may be occasions when the attitudes and practices of some HCAs, nursing students and registered nurses may need to be challenged. If through the process of this challenging, people have been offended, then apologies are offered and forgiveness sought.

As can be seen from the quotes that began this chapter, we live and work in interesting times. There are a large number of books, journals and journal articles by countless authors around those with a learning disability, the families of those with a learning disability, learning disability nurses and learning disability care workforce in general. However, there still appears to be a real and serious gap in the knowledge of many non-specialist nurses, doctors, social care staff and the 'professions allied to medicine' (PAMS: physiotherapists, occupational therapists and paramedics) regarding the lives and needs of those with a learning disability.

Let me pose a small number of simple challenges:

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1.1

How much do you really know about learning disability and those with a learning disability?

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1.2

In any given week where you work, how many of your patients or service users do you think have a learning disability?

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1.3

Is your knowledge of learning disability enough to provide the type and level of care and support that you would like and that your patients or service users need?

If the non-learning disability specialist nurse, nursing student or health care assistant experiences challenges such as these, this may well impact upon the quality of care that those with a learning disability could experience (Mencap, 2007).

As far back as 1979, the Jay Report (Jay Committee, 1979) recommended the ending of learning disability as a nursing branch. Such recommendations have been echoed over many years during debates at RCN Congress. Even the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) tried to restructure pre-registration nurse training with a view to establishing a generalist nurse who would, in theory, have enough knowledge and skills to work in any clinical setting and with any clinical group. Learning disability, mental health and paediatric branches could all be followed at post-registration level. Indeed, such an approach received much, but by no means universal support within nursing's senior management and senior leadership, and was also resisted by many nurses. It may be likely that groups of other health care workers such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and paramedics may also be debating their roles in engaging with and supporting those with a learning disability whom they encounter through their work.

But what of the roles of the 'non-learning disability' nurse, nursing student, HCA, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, paramedic or social care worker? After all, one criticism that could be levelled, possibly with some validity, at existing books is that perhaps the bulk of these books that are available on the subject of learning disability and the care and support of those with a learning disability are aimed, primarily, at those working within the field of learning disability care and support. However, do not all nurses, HCAs, social care staff and many physiotherapists, occupational therapists and paramedics come into contact and work with people with a learning disability at some point in their careers?

Partly to answer this criticism, four 'colleagues' would like to introduce themselves:

Sally is a senior staff nurse with five years' post-qualifying experience, first in an A&E department and then in an acute medical ward of her local general hospital. Sally says that she occasionally encounters patients who have a learning disability but does not feel confident...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Lantern Publishing Ltd
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1908625287
• ISBN 13: 9781908625281
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar