A Brentwood GP practice, Tile House Surgery, has become the first in the Basildon and Brentwood area to achieve Learning Disability Friendly GP Practice accreditation, recognising its commitment to making healthcare more accessible and inclusive for people with a learning disability.
Sport for Confidence, alongside Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), is supporting GP practices in Essex to enhance care for people with learning disabilities.
The Learning Disability Friendly GP Practice Accreditation Scheme supports GP practices to improve access to healthcare through high-quality annual health checks, personalised reasonable adjustments and improved supportive approaches for people with learning disabilities. The accreditation is intended to help more people with learning disabilities receive essential healthcare in a way that works for them.
Partners including NHS Essex, Essex Carers Network and Essex County Council have also helped support GP practices to meet the scheme’s standards and provide high-quality, person-centred care.
As part of the accreditation process, Tile House Surgery completed a detailed assessment with and introduced a range of improvements. These include a virtual tour of the surgery and introductions to staff, helping patients know what to expect before attending. Staff have also completed specialist learning disability training, while reasonable adjustments are offered and recorded on patient records.
Everyone with a learning disability is entitled to an annual physical health check, helping to identify any health concerns early and ensure they receive the support they need to stay well. However, attending appointments can sometimes be challenging, which is why offering reasonable adjustments to meet individual needs is an important part of providing accessible healthcare.
For the second year running, the practice has achieved a very high completion rate for their Learning Disability Annual Health Checks. Every completed check involved a face-to-face physical health assessment with a GP, helping to ensure people receive personalised and comprehensive care.
The practice has also introduced flexible approaches to care for people who may find it difficult to attend the surgery. This includes home visits for some of the most vulnerable patients, where appropriate, with vaccinations and health screening carried out in their own homes.
Sam Martin, Specialist Health Nurse at EPUT said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Tile House Surgery and a great example of what can be achieved when health professionals work together to remove barriers to healthcare. The team has really listened to the needs of people with learning disabilities and made practical changes to make care more accessible and welcoming. We hope their work will inspire other GP practices across Essex to support alternative approaches to care in order to better help reduce health inequalities for people with learning disabilities.”
EPUT’s Learning Disability Specialist Health Team was part of the accreditation panel alongside representatives from NHS Essex, Essex Carers Network, Adult Social Care and Sport for Confidence.
Kimberley Dutton, Senior Occupational Therapist at Sport for Confidence, worked closely with the practice to develop an action plan and support the improvements.
EPUT and Sport for Confidence are now looking at how the learning from Tile House Surgery can be shared with other GP practices, including examples of good practice and areas where further improvements could be made.
The organisations will continue working together to support more practices across Basildon and Brentwood to achieve the accreditation, while also supporting its roll-out in neighbouring areas including Thurrock, Castle Point and Rochford, and Southend.
Julie McMillan, Deputy Practice Manager at Tile House Surgery, said: “We are incredibly proud of the entire team at Tile House Surgery for achieving our NHS Learning Disability Accreditation. This recognition reflects the dedication, compassion and commitment shown by every member of staff in ensuring our practice provides inclusive, accessible and high-quality care for people with learning disabilities.”
Clare Angell, Director for Strategic Commissioning at NHS Essex, said: “The hard work and commitment of staff at Tile House Surgery to achieve this accreditation will continue making a significant difference to the lives of patients with learning disabilities. Strengthening partnership approaches to health care to improve outcomes for people thereby reducing health inequalities, is a key priority for us. We are pleased to have been part of supporting this accreditation.”
About EPUT:
- EPUT has a vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care: Who we are – Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/