AM Calls for Views on Learning Disability Care

Neath AM, Mrs Gwenda Thomas, today asked her constituents to respond to a consultation document on hospital care for people with learning disabilities.
The “Draft Good Practice Framework” report commissioned by Mrs Thomas as Social Services minister and written by Public Health Wales suggests ways in which secondary care for people with learning difficulties could be improved.

The report emphasises that the family and carers of patients with learning difficulties should be increasingly involved in the process of hospital care. It says that those who know the patients well should be listened to when hospital staff are trying to understand patients who have difficulty in expressing themselves.
To help achieve this, the report recommends improvements in record keeping and the setting up ‘care pathways’ to outline good practice at each stage of the admission process.

Mrs Thomas said: “The health needs of people learning difficulties are understandably more complicated than those of the general public. The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to improving the standard of hospital care for this vulnerable section of the community.”

“We’re determined to get this right but to do so we need to listen to views of the people who deal with these problems on a daily basis. I really hope we get as many responses as possible from carers, family members and medical professionals, and from those with learning difficulties themselves. These are the people who understand the issues involved better than anyone else.”

The report and consultation forms can be found online on the consultation section of the Welsh Assembly’s website. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting Gwenda Thomas’ constituency office on 01792 869993.