Saturday 26 June 2010

LD AND HEALTHCARE FOR HEALTH STAFF AND HEALTH STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION `Access All Areas!` hope we are giving something about in the Health care of people with LD. Only because LD week is over, we still you are going to try and take as many we have raised awareness you about the Health care People with Ld have faced in our past. We hope you can do your best to better Health care. It isn't just treatment it's neglect and lives that shouldn't have been lost.

I am yet to talk to my business partner Jess about us looking Health services to see what has and hasn't got better. Myself having not been seriously ill since 1993, although it's a good thing. I don't know what has changed in the hospitals since then. This something I want see for myself without been ill.

I would like to remind you about the things we have spoke about in our training session and what I have put on my website. I may also put things on my website that we haven't spoke about.

What I have said is that people LD are more likely to die you than people with. It's up to Health to do their job how they should and putting a stop to this. Without over protecting keeping a close eye on people with LD for the sake of Health and Safety.
What we didn't make you aware of is it can be hard for people with LD to put trust into Health staff when they have had bad experiences of Health in the past. It well be hard for adult with LD to put trust in the future but if we can creative a good future for today's children we will have better future for tomorrow's adults. It's up to you to prove that you can help people Ld and the people support them to put trust in you. This can scar people away from Health care once they don't feel as if they are not been looked after and cared for. Put yourself in our shoes. Health care is better than it used to be but not good enough. Make a start of stopping bad Health care to tell past Health staff how they should have been taught even though it's not their fault that society was so in the dark in those days.

I spoke to a Gp at my doctors about Health and LD awareness. He told me that they called out most people with LD for appointments but they don't seem to make them or even turn up. I think because of Health care in the past, which I have faced myself people are scared of Health staff. Today's health staff will have a hard job to get most people with LD who have lived 20 to 40 years or more to access the Health services. For eg; I myself have changed my GPS because I wasn't happy at my last one. I stopped going for roughly 12 mouths or more, then I felt brave enough to change my GPS with a bit of help from a support worker.

How can you make Health care better for people with LD?

Me, Andy and Jess are also part of a Self Advocacy group called Our Shout supported by Mencap as well as Access All Areas NOW! even Andy isn't self employed yet. We go to lots of different meetings talking about different things, one subject is the Health care of people with Ld. We all that Health care needs to get better for people with LD. aT LOT OF health care staff find it hard to communicate with people with Ld. They need to learn about Health care we want and need. Most of us have problems with.

Talking, listening, reading, writing talking information in and explaining ourselves to people's understanding. Even a lot of people who support people with LD have problems understanding professions. It's very important for people with Ld to educate all professions. Without communicating and understand one another is useless. If you look around my website I hope I hope I have explained enough for you to understand how with Ld communicate but as different people have different disabilities we all communicate in different.

The law says that Health services need to make changes to how people LD want our Health services. People with LD believe that there are not enough changes made.

People who support people with LD find it hard to make themselves heard as well as people with LD ourselves. Things are better to what they were but we still have a long way to go. Health staff don't know enough about LD. They need to learn about you all need to learn about our needs and wants. Most people with LD find it hard to say how feel. This is why we get poor Health care, it's up to you to better it.

Sometimes Health staff can't communicate with one another.

The way you give medication out is important.

Type out medication information on the computer in size 14 to 20 font.

Easy words and pictures of people talking medication, the type of medication it is and how much.

Make as clear as possible so we understand.

Use bullet point and even numbers step by step to show us what order we take our medication. Mostly there's a lot of information many of us will find it hard to take. As many short words and sentences as possible. No jargon!

Think of the side effects most medications cause mainly when they can affect people in a big bad way. This can have dangerous affects on people's lives. Keep trying until you find the right medication for people.

If you came to our training session on Monday 21st June 2010 for LD week, you may have heard say that you must study the Mental capacity Act it's law!!!!!! I am now reminding that I have also typed it somewhere on this website if look very carefully, I think it's on the next page Learning Disability Health 2010.

What asked advised you to do in the LD week report is study the Health Action plan. There's good information but I believe there may be missing information. For eg; if someone passes out alone out and about they need records of their medication, gp, people with are supporting them, caring for them and etc.

I will also remind you, which was in our Training session and on this website on LD week report that you need to be studying Disability Discrimination Act, which law to study it if you are working in any field of LD.

PCP Person Cente Plan is also is also important to study to give people with LD our own choice and control in life.

All these things you can find websites for, put in your search engine or if you haven't got a lot of access to the internet you could search the book shops or even the libraries to see if there are books on the Health care of people with LD.


The NHS have very little training in the Health care of LD. I have put a lot of important information on this website for you to study. I hope to put new information on for you in the future.

Try to better attitudes.
Respect people with LD.
Be more patient with us.
Treat us with dignity.


Stronger action should be taken to give better Health care. Department of Health should tell all local services to do their work to the ability of LD. There are Directed Enhanced services for people with LD.

Health check ups one or twice a year.
Support for people if and when we need and want it.
Help us to communicate.
Better and clearer information for us to read and understand.
More pictures for those of us who can't read and write.
Most of us can't take information in so we may need support to do so.

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Health study cases for LD week.

Study case 1. Mr Jones is eighteen years old.
He was send to a mental impairment service from the Children team nine mouths prior to his eighteenth birthday.

At the time he was living in a supported flat with 24 hour 1 to 1 support from a private run domiciliary care service, where he had resided for about one year.

He was diagnosed Autism and depression, for which he was prescribed medication by the children's psychiatrist.

At the time he was told that he had severely behavior problems, he had attacked staff several times a week.

This caused a high level of staff sickness to injury or stress.

He has had threaded members of the public.

He often went out to meet young women, that he had relationships with.
He was well known to the police service, who had been called out many times because of his violence behavior towards staff.

He was in court many times for assault and threatening behavior and been detained in young offenders institution twice.

Shortly after his referral, he was again detained in a prison which was 150 miles away from the service.

The mental impairment service attended two reviews at the prison and traveled to see him during his period of detention.

The remain prior to his eighteenth birthday was to gather information and liaise with children's' services.

It was clear that due to his level of learning disability he was not coping well in prison.

The service advised him that psychiatric assessment was done during his time of detention , with a view to finding him a hospital near his home area, and planned for a local psychiatrist to travel to the prison and carry out the assessment.

However, before he could be moved, his time of detention ended and he was released back to his old address.

He was placed on a higher level of 24 hour care with two or three staff at all times.

He has been detained on a low secure unit many times in order to treat episode of psychosis.

A few mouths later, the housing and support provider felt after many attacks, they couldn't give support any longer to Mr Jones due to his behavior.

He was evicted from the property. An emergency referral was then made to an alternative care provider which was based about 60 miles away from his home.

He was moved to another supported flat with 24 hour support from two staff.

A mouth of residing in this placement he again turned up in court following previous assaults and was remanded in prison. At this point he turned eighteen.
He was officially moved to the mental impairment service on the day of his 18th birthday.

Shortly after this, a move to this a move to a low private secure therapeutic facility was planned under section 37 of Mental Health Act. The unit is 156 miles away from Mr Jone's home.

People with LD and Mental Health problems can be misunderstood but it doesn't that everything is down to LD and Mental Health.

Some people may be unaware of what they could be saying or and doing.
There are all different kinds behavior problems.

For eg; I understand that crime can be a serous thing, I feel for people when they lose the people they love.

No is saying that people with Ld should be treated any different because of there LD but there needs to be awareness of balance if it comes to a case of a person with LD who hasn't been aware of what they may have done until they have told in a prison but at the same time we must understand the feeling of the victims loved ones.

The person with LD may be very angry with themselves to a point they could take they own life because they wouldn't be able to stand a life time in prison.

I am not saying all people with LD don't know what they are doing but for the ones don't wouldn't do such crimes if it hadn't of been for their problems.

Some causes could be done to LD, Mental problems or and the side affects of most medications. Health staff need to looking into these things so these people don't put themselves through these things.


Case 2 com pair Mr Jone's case with mine as a child.

I was on heavy medication as a child, which caused my behavior problems which didn't give me any excuse. On the other hand, I can gladly my behaviour problems weren't bad enough to commit a crime.

I found it hard to pay attention in the day time at school and I was hyperactive at night.
I think I was over tried, the medication made very dreamily and sleepily in the day time yet strangely I wouldn't rest if I had the chance of a nap.

Since I have come off those tablets I haven't those problems have stopped.

Back then I would just lose my temper any time, any place and anywhere, kick and scream the place down.

In shops I would pull the items off the shelves.

For eg; if I couldn't tie my shoes laces, I would get very angry.

I used to think that the world was more cleverer than.

I thought I was the only person couldn't cope with every day life skills. The world seemed very big to me when I was little.

It's a wonder I did not commit crimes, with the strength of the tablets I was on, it made so unaware of the world around me.

When I came off the tablets at the age of 12 because I was having less fits slowly I became aware of the world around me and my behavior problems calmed down.

My questions are to you, there's no right or wrong answers, I am just interested what you think.

How do you think my life would have ended up now if I was still on those dangerous tablets? Do you think I would have ended up like Mr Jones or not?
Lucky for me I didn't to take these tablets for the rest of my life, even they thought Health staff at that time though I was going to have to always depend on those tablets for life.

Please send me an email on sarajgorman@googlemail.com.

Phenobarbital (phenobarbitone) I think I took 3 to 500mgs One tablet three times a day,that's how dangerous the medication was for a child or any human being any age.
I read a bit of history about the tablets, the purpose was to help the soldiers sleep in the 1st or and 2nd world war.
My children was in the 1970s.
If you would like to research it on the Internet Health staff and Health students.

If you research this please send an email me to let me know what you have found out.

Case three. Mr Smith is twenty - six years old West Indian man with mild LD and psychotic disorder for which he receives prescribed medication.
He has a long history of petty offence rs for which he has been arrested and in court many times.
These include burglary, theft and minor drug offences.

He is very well known to the local police.

He had spent five years on offender register due to previous sex offenders against a girl under age sixteen.

Mr Smith resides in the area he has moved to different rented places over the years.
He often fails to keep appointments and very guarded about his whereabouts, making it hard to engage effectively with him.

He finds it hard to help himself and many of his placements have failed. His currently saying with family and is soon to be evicted.

It is known that Mr Smith does not adhere voluntary to his medication regime.

Mr Smith is very hard to house due to his history of unstable tenancies, and his offending behaviour.

He had just been arrested for burglary and his court case has been put on hold for two mouths.
There has been an ongoing issues with the police as he and his family feel that his LD is not taken into account by police or professions with the criminal justice system.

He has taken custody many times with no request for an appropriate adult, or any support from health or social services.

Why do you think Mr Smith committed the crimes he had done?

Do you think by the sounds of cases he meant to commit these crimes or not?

Make notes on the balance of the feelings of the victims and Mr Smiths feelings in case of if he didn't know what he was doing. How do you think he felt when he became aware?

In the case that he may of meant to commit these crimes what do you think should happen to him because of his LD?

What should to happen to him if he didn't know what he was doing?

What do you think caused it he didn't mean to do? LD, Mental Health problems or even the medication he's taking.


Do you think he may be misunderstood? Without excuses there may be all kinds of possibilities but we need to understand the feelings of the victims, families, lovers and friends.

Health students and Health staff, if you want to answer these questions, you may be able to research Mr Smith's LD on the internet. Please email if you want if you answer to try to answer these questions.