The Equality Act (2010) requires public sector organisations to provide reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. You can find out more about reasonable adjustments here.  

Adjustments we can provide may include:

• Arranging familiarisation visits to various wards and departments
• Open visiting for carers/family members
• Arranging alternate entrance/exit points to access the building
• Identifying and implementing modifications to the environment to accommodate sensory needs (e.g. removing unnecessary equipment, arranging quieter waiting areas, dimmed lighting)
• Ensuring the use of preferred and appropriate communication styles
• Arranging or accommodating extra support during your stay at the hospital
• Sharing your hospital passport with the hospital staff
• Offering you longer/flexible appointment times
• Providing easy read information

This list is by no means exhaustive; many of our adjustments are bespoke and created according to individual patient need.

We also use Hospital Passports within adult services, these documents are helpful for staff looking after you to know how you like to be supported and any important information in those times you may not be able to communicate these effectively for yourself. We encourage all of our patients to have one, if you have one from another hospital or the children's hospital we can support you in making sure it is up to date.