Bristol Royal Hospital for Children supports patients and families from Bristol and across the Southwest. This may mean that care is transferred to an adult hospital closer to where you live.

There are some differences between how care works in children's services and adult services. To help with this, Learning Disability and Autism Practitioners are available to offer advice, guidance, and support throughout the transition process.

The Learning Disability and Autism Practitioners support patients at the following UHBW hospital sites:

• Bristol Royal Infirmary
• Weston General Hospital
• Bristol Eye Hospital
• Bristol Dental Hospital
• South Bristol Community Hospital
• St Michael's Hospital
• Unity Sexual Health
• Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre
• Bristol Heart Institute
• Southmead Hospital

You can visit the AccessAble website using the link below to see photographs and easy read information about our hospital sites and services.

If your care moves to a hospital outside of Bristol, you will be able to contact the Learning Disability and Autism Practitioners at your new hospital. Hospitals can be contacted directly for information, or your healthcare team can help support you with this.

Learning Disability and Autism Liaison Team

The Learning Disability and Autism Liaison Team supports young people and adults who use adult hospital services, including young people aged 16 and over who are moving from children's services to adult services.

A Learning Disability and Autism Practitioners is a specialist health care professional who helps make sure you get the right support while in hospital. They work with you and the hospital team to put reasonable adjustments in place, helping to improve your experience of care during:

• Outpatient appointments (including scans, X-rays, and treatments)
• Inpatient stays
• Emergency admissions

The team can:

• Help make sure people with a learning disability and/or autism have equal access to healthcare
• Share important information about your needs with hospital staff before your appointment or admission, so they can plan your care properly
• Support complex discharge planning when you are ready to leave hospital

The practitioners can also support you if you need to make decisions about your health or care while in hospital. They understand that decision-making can sometimes be difficult.