Stopping Over-Medication of People with Learning Disabilities

"The goal is to improve the quality of life of people with a learning disability by reducing the potential harm of inappropriate psychotropic drugs that may be used wholly inappropriately, as a “chemical restraint” to control challenging behaviour, in place of other more appropriate treatment options. It is time for action, it is time for you to lead a medication review of all people with a learning disability, with a view to implementing a planned supervised dose reduction and stopping of inappropriate psychotropic drugs"

Stopping Over-Medication of People with Learning Disabilities (toolkit): Reducing inappropriate psychotropic drugs in people with a learning disability in general practice and hospitals in 2016
NHS England
June 2016

Access the toolkit here.

Improving physical health for people taking antipsychotic medication

"The combination of interventions has created an improvement in monitoring and changes appear to be sustained throughout the project." 

Improving physical health for people taking antipsychotic medication in the Community Learning Disabilities Service
I Hall, A Shah
BMJ Quality Improvement Report 2016;5: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u209539.w3933

Read more here.

A systematic review of hospital experiences of people with intellectual disability

"Our review of eligible papers revealed that despite 20 years of research and government initiatives, people with intellectual disability continue to have poor hospital experiences. The need for research to identify and investigate care at specific points of encounter across a hospital journey (such as admission, diagnostic testing, placement on a ward, and discharge) as well as to include people with a diversity of disabilities is discussed in terms of potential to influence policy and practice across health and disability sectors."

A systematic review of hospital experiences of people with intellectual disability

T Iacono, C Bigby, C Unsworth, J Douglas, P Fitzpatrick
BMC Health Services Research 2014, 14:505  doi:10.1186/s12913-014-0505-5

Read more here.

Ophthalmology quality standard assessment tools

"The College's Quality Standards Group has updated its suite of simple self-assessment tools for the following clinical services: cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), diabetic retinopathy (Scotland), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), vitreoretinal surgery, oculoplastics,  paediatric services, and for patients with learning disabilities."

Quality Standards
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Read more here.

Reducing the need for restrictive interventions

"Wherever possible, people who use services, family carers, advocates and other relevant representatives should be engaged in all aspects of planning their care including how to respond to crisis situations, post-incident debriefings, rigorous reporting arrangements for staff and collation of data regarding the use of restrictive interventions." 

Positive and Proactive Care: reducing the need for restrictive interventions
Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnership Directorate
Department of Health
April 2014

Read more here.

Strengthening the commitment: learning disabilities nursing review

"Learning disabilities nurses, their managers and leaders should develop and apply 
outcomes focused measurement frameworks to evidence their contribution to improving 
person centred health outcomes and demonstrating value for money."

Strengthening the commitment: one year on: progress report on the UK Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review 
Public Health Nursing Division, Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing UK Implementation Group

Department of Health

April 2014 

Read more here.

Positive and Proactive Care: reducing the need for restrictive interventions

"Rigorous governance is needed to ensure that positive and proactive care is the main approach within services to reduce excessive reliance on restrictive interventions and to ensure that if they are used, it is only ever as a last resort, and they are undertaken in a proportionate and least restrictive way."

Positive and proactive care: reducing the need for restrictive interventions
Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnership Directorate
Department of Health
April 2014

Read more here.

Personal health budgets: including people with learning disabilities

"Implementing personal health budgets for people with learning disabilities can improve the quality of support, and thus the quality of life, for individuals and their families."

Personal health budgets: including people with learning disabilities
S Turner, A Giraud-Saunders
Think Local Act Personal

February 2014

Read more here.

Auditing and improving your mental health services

"A guide to auditing and improving your mental health services so that it is effective in supporting people with autism and people with learning disabilities."

Green Light Toolkit
Department of Health, Mental Health Network NHS Confederation, National Development Team for inclusion
November 2013

Access the toolkit here.

Learning disabilities: good practice project

"The project is all about finding places where services for people with learning disabilities are very good. It aims to get people talking to each other to make services better."

Learning disabilities: good practice project
J Hough, K Martin
Department of Health
November 2013

Read more here.

Improving the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities

"Commissioning services for people with learning disabilities is a substantial test of working together in effective partnerships and, through this, securing better health and support for local people while safeguarding this most vulnerable group of our population."

Improving the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities: an evidence-based commissioning guide for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
Improving Health and Lives: Learning Disabilities Observatory
October 2012

Read more here.