Experiences of the implementation of a learning disability nursing liaison service within an acute hospital setting: a service evaluation

Abstract

Accessible Summary This article is about learning disability liaison nurses, and whether they help people with learning disabilities to have a better experience when they are in hospital. We talked to people with learning disabilities, their carers and hospital staff to find out what they thought about learning disability liaison nurses in acute hospitals. Everybody thought that these nurses were very important, and that they helped patients and hospital staff to talk to each other and understand each other better. This work shows that learning disability liaison nurses working in an acute hospital can help people with learning disabilities to receive a better service. SummaryIt has been well documented that people with learning disabilities receive poor care in acute settings. Over the last few years, a number of learning disability liaison nurse services have developed in the United Kingdom as a response to this, but there has been a failure to systematically gather evidence as to their effectiveness. This article reports on a service evaluation that sought to establish whether implementing a learning disability liaison nurse service improved hospital experiences for patients with learning disabilities, and their carers, whilst in an acute hospital setting. Quantitative data were collected on all patients with learning disabilities referred to this service over a six‐month period, and this included numbers referred (elective and emergency), length of time for referral, presenting conditions and age profile, as well as activities of the liaison nurses. These data suggest an incremental rise in referral of patients with learning disabilities to this service over time, relatively few inappropriate referrals, referrals from hospital staff and community services were similar, and these nurses found that some patients with learning disabilities were not referred to the service. Concerning activities of these nurses, these were dominated by discharge planning, assisting in making reasonable adjustments, liaison work and assisting with mental capacity issues. In addition, patients with learning disabilities, their carers and hospital staff who had experience of this learning disability nursing liaison service were interviewed. It was found from these interviews that all participants understood the role of the liaison nurse and articulated that they improved communication as well as promoting holistic care. Those interviewed highlighted the importance of such a role and the need for it to continue. This service evaluation makes an important contribution to an ongoing gap in learning disability literature concerning the importance of such a service.