EPUT Learning Disability Service

What Is a Behaviour Therapist?
A Behaviour Therapist is trained to offer support to people with learning disability and additional behaviours that challenge. They help you to change behaviours that cause concern that may also make it hard for you to access some activities, places or support. They carry out assessments and observations to gather important data about you, your life and where you live. This helps to understand the reason for the behaviours so that everyone is providing support that is best for you.

What Can a Behaviour Therapist help with?
A Behaviour Therapist can help you to increase your quality of life and develop new skills. They can help with self-injury, physical or verbal aggression, or withdrawing from services, or other behaviours that are worrying you or others. They will work with you, and help your family, carers or staff team.

Why might I get support from a Behaviour Therapist?
You might get support from a Behaviour Therapist if your family or carers have raised concerns about your behaviour. This can include you or other people getting hurt, not attending or being able to attend your activities, or not being able to stay where you live.

What Is a Learning Disability Nurse?
A community learning disability nurse provides advice, assessment, Interventions and monitoring around the complex health needs of people with a learning disability. They offer support to Individuals and their carers to enable self management of health conditions.

They also provide joint working to support mainstream health professionals to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities

They also provide education and training to carers, other health and social care professionals and learning disability providers.

What can a community Learning Disability Nurse help with?
A CLDN can help you to understand your health appointments. They can talk through your health conditions with you and give you advice and information about staying healthy. They might also help your families and carers to understand your physical and mental health better.

Why might I get support from a Community Learning Disability Nurse?
CLDN's offer assessment, advice and support on many healthcare Issues including:

• Your physical health, health action plans and annual health checks with you GP.
• Supporting you to get the best out of your health appointments.
• Your mental health and wellbeing
• Helping you with ageing well
• Supporting you with health education on things such as diabetes, obesity and medication
• Providing you with easy read health information
• Offering support with end of life care
• Help to access other mainstream health services.
• Helping you with health phobias.

This service operates Monday- Friday 9am -5pm.

Addresses

Pride House
Christy Close
Southfields Industrial Estate
Laindon, Essex
SS15 6EA

Ely House
Churchill Avenue
Basildon
Essex
SS14 2BQ

John Tallack Centre
Thurrock Community Hospital
Long Lane
Grays
Essex
RM16 2PX

What Is CSH?
CSH is a multi-professional team providing a wide range of health support for those people with learning disability who are at risk of being admitted to a general hospital or are unable to access appropriate mainstream health services because of their learning disability.

What can CSH help with?
The team can help you manage your physical health needs. They might support liaison with a Doctor if this is needed. They may prepare and support you at appointments with other professionals as part of your care. The team can also provide support with keeping you safe, help you develop social skills and independence as well as supporting communication needs and other specialist assessments. Support can be offered from one or more professionals at any one time depending on need.

What Support might I get from CSH?

• You might see a speech and language therapist If you find It hard to communicate your needs or have difficulty with swallow.
• You might see an occupational therapist or physiotherapist if you have difficulty with mobility or seating or other equipment.
• You might see a psychologist to help you to talk about your feelings and emotions.
• You might see a behaviour therapist to help you find ways of managing behaviours that are worrying to yourself or others.
• You might see a nurse to help you attend other health appointments.

How and who can refer?

• New referrals must be made through the Way-In service.
• Those service users currently open to learning disability services should contact their allocated worker on 01268 739134 or 01268 739150

This service operates Monday- Friday 9am -5pm.

Addresses

1 Heath Close
Billericay
Essex
CM12 9NW

Pride House
Christy Close
Southfields Industrial Estate
Laindon, Essex
SS15 6EA

Ely House
Churchill Avenue
Basildon
Essex
SS14 2BQ

John Tallack Centre
Thurrock Community Hospital
Long Lane
Grays
Essex
RM16 2PX

What is the EST?
EST provides support for people who are in a mental health or behaviour crisis. The team will work with people with a learning disability who are at risk of being admitted to an inpatient ward so that they can help to keep them at home.

What can Enhanced Support help with?
The team can help you manage your mental health and distress in a positive way. They might check your medication Is working well for you and will support liaison with a Doctor if this is needed. They may prepare and support you at appointments with other professionals as part of your care. The team can also provide support with keeping you safe, help you develop social skills and independence as well as supporting communication needs and other specialist assessments.

Why might I get support from an Enhanced Support?

• You might see a Learning Disability Nurse, Occupational Therapist and a Speech and Language Therapist. The team works alongside Consultant Psychiatrists.
• If you are at risk of losing your community placement including residential and/or day services because your mental health has deteriorated or your behaviours have Increased/changed.
• You might see an Enhanced Support practitioner if you are presenting with risky behaviour that Is putting yourself or others at risk.
• You might see an Enhanced Support practitioner if your family or carers need support to put a Positive Behaviour Support Plan in place.
• You might have support with reducing or optimising your medication this is called STOMP. This means Stopping the Over Medication of People with a Learning Disability, Autism or both. We have a STOMP clinic to support this.

How to refer?

• New referrals must be made through the Way-In service.
• Those service users currently open to learning disability services should contact their allocated worker.
• Those service users open to EST can contact the team via The Contact Centre: 01268 739134

Address
1 Heath Close
Billericay
Essex
CM12 9NW

Opening hours
Monday - Friday 8am-8pm
Saturday-Sunday and Bank holiday- 9am-5pm

There are 11 inpatient beds for adults with a learning disability across Essex. These beds are at Byron Court (EPUT) and Lexden Hospital (HPFT).

Byron Court is a 7 bedded assessment and treatment ward based in Billericay. The ward has  a multidisciplinary team, made up of the ward manager, nurses/ healthcare assistants, Occupational therapist, Speech and language therapists, behaviour therapy, psychology, activity coordinators, chef and doctors all work together to provide the level of support needed during the recovery pathway.

The ward environment is set up to enhance support and recovery with Individualised care, Including en-suite shower room with all bedrooms.

We have 2 chefs who prepare freshly cooked meals in collaboration with the patients.

Address
Byron Court
5 Heath Close
Billericay
Essex
CM12 9NW

Phone number 01277 637201

Visiting Times
Between 10am and 8pm.
There are protected times to allow activities and meals.

What is an Occupational Therapist?
An Occupational Therapist’s helps people to achieve independence in their activities of daily living. They will find out how you manage everyday activities, such as brushing your teeth, going shopping or making food and drinks and to support people to do activities for themselves. If a person needs help with activities, an Occupational Therapist might teach or practice skills with them or change their environment or prescribe equipment to make activities easier.

What can an Occupational Therapist help with?
An occupational therapist can support you to learn about looking after yourself or to help with skills to be more Independent. They might help with developing your confidence and talking about feelings. They might also help you and those who support you to understand your feelings.

Occupational therapists can also support with equipment to help you to be more Independent or to support your posture during the day and night.

Why might I get support from an Occupational Therapist?

• You might need help  with activities to help you feel ok about yourself. They might also suggest changes to your environment to make things easier for you.
• You might need support with  safe systems of moving & handling or to reduce risks for carers when moving and handling you
• You might need support after hospital discharge with OT recommendations.
• You might need support to avoid care or placement breakdown due to physical or mental health changes.
• You might need help to prevent hospital admission.
• You might have difficulty joining in activities and this could be having an Impact on your day to day life.

What Is A Physiotherapist?
A Physiotherapist is a person who helps someone with their posture and movement. They can help people if they have a problem walking or with falling over. A Physiotherapist can help a person to sit comfortably or help them to get a special armchair or wheelchair by completing a specialist posture assessment and working alongside wheelchair services or equipment reps. They can also help with exercises to stay mobile, increase strength, improve movement and feel more comfortable. Physiotherapists can also help to improve or maintain your respiratory health, including exercise and positioning guidance.

What can a Physiotherapist help with?
A Physiotherapist can help with posture which includes referrals and assessments for specialist equipment including wheelchairs, seating, orthotics, mobility aids and sleep systems.

A physiotherapist can help improve movement and function. They may give you advice and exercises following a specialist assessment, taking into account your current health conditions. They will provide this intervention in an individualised way which incorporates your specific needs and work alongside other professionals as required. They may also help to provide you with equipment such as a walking aid or support you to access more appropriate seating and teach you how to use this correctly.

A physiotherapist can also help with your respiratory health, such as to try and reduce the number of chest infections you have by providing exercises, positioning advice and working alongside your GP.

Why might I get support from a Physiotherapist?

• You might see a Physiotherapist if you have been falling over and hurting yourself, or you have a sudden deterioration of mobility/changes in mobility causing risk of a placement breakdown
• You might get support from a Physiotherapist if you or your family or carer think you might need special footwear.
• You might see a Physiotherapist if you need help with sitting or sleeping differently or need support with helping your body to move better.
• If you have problems with your breathing - secretions associated with infection and need for postural drainage/ risk of aspiration pneumonia.
• If you have had surgery and require specialist intervention, which cannot be managed by community physiotherapy team.

What Is a Psychologist?
A psychologist is trained to help people deal with problems and manage their feelings. They help people feel better through talking, learning new skills and giving advice. They are part of a health team, like doctors and nurses, but they do not give medication or use needles.

What Can a Psychologist help with?
A psychologist can help by finding out more about your difficulties. This can give a good understanding of why the difficulties started and what is keeping them going. Other assessments can help you with accessing the right services, like those that need a diagnosis of Learning Disability, or we may contribute to assessments around neurodevelopmental disorders (such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder), as part of ongoing care.  

A psychologist can support you when you are struggling with difficult emotions, like anger, feeling low, feeling worried, or struggling with things that have happened to you (now or in the past). They use talking therapies and adapted interventions and they listen to you. Psychologists can use different ways of working, depending on the problem and what that person needs the most.

Sometimes a psychologist may not work with you directly, but may offer support to people close to you, such as family, carers or staff. They may give teaching or training on important topics, so that others can then feel more skilled to offer you help.

Why might I get support from a Psychologist?
You might get support from a psychologist if you would find it helpful to talk about your feelings and if you are feeling upset about your life. You might get support if you are finding it hard to do things you enjoy or to meet your goals in life. The people supporting you might want help in understanding you and the things you are experiencing better, and what they could change.

What is a Speech & Language Therapist?
Speech and Language Therapists work as part of the Community Team for people with learning disabilities. The Speech and Language Therapist will work with people who use our services, their families and carers and other health professionals assess, treating and providing advice to adults who have communication difficulties or difficulties with eating, drinking and swallowing.

What can a Speech and Language Therapist help with?
You might get support from a Speech and Language Therapist if your GP feels you are having problems with eating and drinking, including having difficulties swallowing food. We can only see you if the GP has referred you to the team.
You might get help from a Speech and Language Therapist if you are having problems communicating things you want to share. A Speech and Language Therapist may also talk to people involved in your life and provide them with advice and training.

Why might I get support from a Speech and Language Therapist?

• You might have communication difficulties or problems eating and drinking.
• You might be showing new signs and symptoms of difficulty swallowing. A member of the team might come and see you during a meal or snack time and ask you to try some different types of food and drink.
• You and those support you might need help to understand how to eat and drink safely.
• To assess your communication needs, give you advice on ways to help you improve your communication and explore and teach new methods of communication-signing, symbols and speech.

What Is Way In?
The Way-In service is the Single Point of Access for people in need of our service.

A referral can be made by anyone and is sent to the Way-In service. A Senior Clinical Advisor will screen/assess the referral and will provide an outcome letter.

You can access Way In by completing our referral form.

Who can Way In help?
To receive specialist input from ELDP you need to be both eligible for a service and have needs that are appropriate for specialist learning disability health support.

Eligibility criteria:

1. Must have a diagnosed learning disability.
2. Our service must have the relevant skills and resources to meet your needs.
3. These needs cannot be better met by another service.