Accessibility champions from Sirona care & health showcased the vital work they have been doing to support people with learning disabilities and reduce health inequalities.
Lyn Sandles, Learning Disability Screening Practitioner, and Suzannah Cook, Accessible Communications and Engagement Lead, shared their impactful initiatives at a meeting with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) as part of Learning Disability Awareness Week.
The weekly meeting enables members of the Healthier Together Integrated Care System to update partners on projects across BNSSG and share resources.
Lyn Sandles works in Sirona’s Adult Learning Disability Health Service (ALDHS), which works with people, their families and support workers, to help them to understand and make choices about their health.
Lyn highlighted some of the fantastic events hosted by the service for Learning Disability Awareness Week based on the theme ‘Do You See Me? She talked about what it means to live with a learning disability and stressed how important it is to hear from people with lived experience to ensure appropriate support is provided and the information shared is accessible.
Suzannah Cook shared the tools and strategies her team is developing to improve access to care. This included the new easy-read dictionary which comprises 50 standardised photo symbols and was co-produced with people with learning disabilities.
She said: “We asked people in the community if having consistent images to mean the same things in the health information we send them would help them to understand better – it was a resounding ‘yes’.”
Suzannah stressed the importance of adopting a dictionary and template across the system to ensure health information is consistent and accessible for people with learning disabilities.
Shane Devlin, Chief Executive of NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: “It is important we have these conversations and use the collective knowledge we have across our organisations to reduce the challenges people with learning disabilities face when accessing health and care services.
“I would like to thank Sirona care & health colleagues for sharing their work with the ICB and highlighting what we are doing as an integrated care system to reduce health inequalities in our local communities.”
The session reinforced the system’s collective commitment to enhancing the lives of people with learning disabilities. Sirona’s proactive approach, spearheaded by individuals like Lyn and Suzannah, continues to pave the way for more inclusive and accessible healthcare and support.
Any organisations who work with people with learning disabilities can request a copy of the easy-read dictionary by emailing sirona.communications@nhs.net
