A toolkit to enhance access to emergency departments for people with learning disabilities  in Northern Ireland

The Western Health and Social Care Trust, have been awarded funding to create a toolkit which will support people with lived experience of a learning disability to have equity of access to, and equity of outcome from urgent and emergency care in times of ill health.

Background

The Western Health and Social Care Trust is geographically the largest trust within Northern Ireland, and operates two emergency departments in both local acute hospitals which are situated approximately 70 miles apart. Acute resources are spread between both hospitals, therefore people with learning disability can be directed to access either hospital. However, the trust have acknowledged the difficulties people with a learning disability may experience in accessing local acute services, and the subsequent health inequalities. As such, an Acute Liaison Nurse for people with learning disability has been appointed full time in each hospital.  

Co-developing a Toolkit to Enhance the Pathway through Emergency Departments for People with Learning Disabilities

The trust will develop a co-designed toolkit to enhance the experience of people with learning disabilities accessing their respective emergency departments, and will build on current services in their emergency departments which include a sensory room and care pathways specific for people with learning disabilities in each emergency department.

An easy read guide is available here.

Project Objectives

1. Facilitate five focus groups with groups of stakeholders to collect qualitative data to establish themes that will inform our co-production workshops
2. Facilitate two co-production workshops, and by using the themes emerging from objective one, develop a toolkit that will support people with learning disabilities in their journey through emergency departments
3. Pilot test the toolkit in the emergency departments and gather feedback from people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and staff in the emergency departments
4. Dissemination - share their findings regionally and nationally through presentations and publication
5. Prepare a plan to support the embedding of the toolkit into practice regionally and nationally

The study has now begun and hopes to be complete by December 2026.