Learning disability liaison nurses

Frimley Health currently has two learning disability nurses; Emily and Natasha. Emily and Natasha work at Frimley Park Hospital.

Emily and Natasha are based on the Frimley Park site.



All are available Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm.

Emily and Natasha are both employed by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and help patients over the age of 18 years old. Emily is the lead nurse for Surrey patients and Natasha is the lead nurse for Berkshire patients. 

A learning disability is a lifelong condition which cannot be cured.
There are three core criteria which must be met for the term learning disability to apply:

• Significant impairment of intellectual function. An IQ below 70
• Significant impairment of adaptive and/or social function and their ability to cope with demands on a day-to-day basis
• Normally occurs at birth or shortly after

A learning disability and a learning difficulty are different. A patient with a learning difficulty diagnosis (autism, dyslexia, ADHD, dementia or any patient presenting in mental health crisis for example) would not be eligible for the services of the liaison nurses, without an associated learning disability diagnosis.

Patients with a learning disability or learning difficulty should ensure that hospital staff are aware of their individual additional needs so that adjustments can be made as needed. This can be done by the patient, their carer or their next of kin.

Hospital passports

If you are coming into one of our hospitals please bring your hospital passport with you. If you do not have one please use this link to download one and complete it before you come.
If you need any easy read information on a specific topic, please contact the learning disability liaison nurses who can support you with this.

What support the liaison nurses provide

• We can create or provide easy read information to help you understand your treatment or what is going to happen
• Work with the staff Provide advice and support to the acute staff to meet the needs of people with a learning disability
• We can help to organise reasonable adjustments, like a longer appointment time or a quieter waiting room
• Helping you or the people who support you to prepare for your hospital visit
• We provide the hospital staff with learning disability awareness training to better support you and the people who support you

Resources

• My Care Passport 
• Easy Health website - There are lots of easy read documents available to help with understanding your illness and the treatments available to help you. You can find many of these on the easyhealth.org.uk website.
• The NHS has a general complaint form which makes it easier for people with learning disabilities to give feedback, raise concerns and make complaints. The complaint booklet will help you understand how to complete it.