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‘Good Health’ Delivery Group

Minutes

Date: 20th September 2017 – 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Venue: Sturry Social Centre, 15 Mill Road,

Sturry, Canterbury, CT2 0AN

Who was there?

Danielle Barlow - Self advocate, Canterbury

Xan Brooker - KCC, Commissioning Officer - Learning Disabilities

Hannah Chandler - KCC, Admin Officer - Transforming Care

Louise Flatman - North Kent Independent Advocacy Scheme (NKIAS)

Sam Holman - Joint Chair of the Kent LD Partnership Board

Michelle Hoskens - East Kent Mencap

Janine Jacquin - Pepenbury

Continued . . .

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Who was there? (continued)

Neil Kirbey - Self Advocate, Thanet

Liz Lester - Public Health England, Screening and Immunisation Coordi-

nator

Cheryl Pannell - Pepenbury

Deborah Russell - Kent Community Day Service Scheme, Thanet

Helen Scott-Cooper - GOLD, East Kent Mencap

Pene Stevens - Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust,

Consultant Nurse / Professional Lead

David Tate - Self advocate, Thanet

Linda Trower - GOLD, East Kent Mencap

R Veasey - GOLD, East Kent Mencap

Nicky Wells - Joint Chair of the Good Health Group

Apologies

Susan Abels - KCC, Team Leader

Cathy Bernal - Canterbury Christ Church University, Senior Lecturer in

Learning Disability

Joanne Cunningham - KCC, Kent LD Partnership Coordinator

Nick Hughes - North Kent Independent Advocacy Scheme (NKIAS)

Sally Hyde - East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust,

Head of Adult Safeguarding

Tanya Orchin - North Kent Independent Advocacy Scheme (NKIAS)

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Welcome and Apologies

Nicky welcomed everyone to the meeting and the

ground rules were read. Everyone introduced

themselves to the group.

Visiting the doctor

The group spoke about issues in going to see the

doctor.

Xan projected a presentation on this.

People do not like visiting the doctor because of how they are treated.

Xan advised doctors should be making reasonable adjustments at their

surgeries.

What is a reasonable adjustment?

A reasonable adjustment is anything where a doctor can

adapt something to help you at the surgery – Easy Read

information, extra time, a ramp available for a wheel chair

user.

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Visiting the doctor (continued)

Problems discussed:

Some members of the group experience

difficulties when phoning the doctor to make an

appointment. At some doctors surgeries you

need to phone the doctor on the day if you need

an appointment, then give a brief description of

your illness to the receptionist. The group do

not feel they should need to tell the receptionist, and that

they should only discuss personal issues with the doctor.

The doctor should call straight back, as some

members of the group advised they have plans to

go out and causes problems if they need to wait

for the doctor to phone back in an hours’ time.

Some members of the group do not like talking about personal

things on the phone as they are shy, and they do not like their

parent or carer saying anything for them as it is embarrassing.

People with an LD may not have the confidence to challenge

what the doctor is saying.

Telephone system at the doctors – too many options to select,

then you can get put on hold, makes you feel anxious, and can’t

remember all of the options to select.

People feel pressured and not listened to.

Not all doctors are good at talking about

Mental Health.

Reception areas are not always confidential,

can hear reception staff moaning about patients.

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Visiting the doctor (continued)

The group had a vote and the majority agreed they do not like talking to the doctor on the phone. A couple of members of the group advised they have had a yearly

health check and they are good.

A member of the group said that Doctors only get 10

minutes with each person for an appointment, they rush

through, and they are stressed.

Appointments need to be made more effective.

People with an LD should have this flagged on their medical record so

the receptionist can see as well.

One surgery has a screen placed in the waiting room, when it is your

appointment your name comes up together with the Doctors name and

picture that you are seeing.

What things would be helpful for Doctor’s to know?

One member of the group suggested doing the ‘You say but

we hear’ method as this has worked well previously (a group

of people listen to someone speak, and then see what bits

they pick out).

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Visiting the doctor (continued)

Some people felt it was better when the doctor comes out

to greet you in person.

Better signs pointing you where to go are needed.

Fixing the broken appointment registration machines.

Receptionists should not shout at people if they have

hearing problems.

Talk to the person direct, not their parent/carer.

ACTION – Xan to pull something together around reasonable

adjustments, things that should be in place before we get through the

door.

ACTION – Group members to take the ‘We would like to know about

your experience’ slide from today’s presentation back to their groups

and ask for their feedback.

ACTION – After DPGs come back—Xan to work with

Advocacy and Community teams to arrange a workshop

to help people with learning disabilities tell their GP

Surgeries what they can do better.

ACTION – Xan/Pene to invite someone from a Patient

Participation Group to attend the next meeting.

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Visiting the doctor (continued)

ACTION – DPGs and the Good Health Group to write a letter to the

Clinical Commissioning Group to the GPs around this, then bring back to

another Good Health Group.

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Public Health Screening Programmes –

Liz Lester & Pene Stevens

During March 2017 a large meeting took place about ‘screening’.

Liz handed out some leaflets to the group on different types of

Screening – breast screening, bowel screening, diabetic eye screening.

Some people do not understand the letters that are sent out inviting

them for a screening appointment.

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Public Health Screening Programmes –

Liz Lester & Pene Stevens (continued)

Pene and her team went along to some doctors

surgeries and looked at the LD registers there.

There were several ladies with an LD at one

surgery, so Pene and her team contacted them to

ask whether they would like someone to explain

what the screening is about? The ladies all said yes

to help. Leaflets were handed out to the ladies, pictures were shown to

them of the screening process, and pictures of the mobile van were

shown too.

Pene and her team plan to continue this work across Kent for the next

year.

Pene advised it would be really useful for people to give their feedback

with any problems.

How do we get in touch with the right people about

screening, or if we have not received an appointment letter

when we should?

Please contact the ‘Learning Disability Central Referral

Service’:

Telephone- 0300 1234195

Email- kentchft.ldsref@nhs.net

(Monday to Friday - 9.00-5.00)

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Minutes of the last meeting

Nicky went through the actions from the last

meeting.

All actions complete except one on page 11:

Carry action forward -‘Joanne is chasing up with

Public Health on how they will ensure that people with a learning

disability could be involved in future website development’ – still

chasing, leave action open.

Planning for the next meeting

Suggestions:

Menopause

Action – Pene to get a nurse to come along to the next

meeting to talk about the Menopause.

The Men within the group today said it would be

helpful for them to listen about the Menopause too so

that they could support others going through it.

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Planning for the next meeting

(continued)

Health issues

DPGs would like someone from the NHS to come out to

their local meetings to talk about health issues.

Action – Pene to arrange for someone from the NHS to go

out to the DPGs local meetings.

Dentist experiences

Diabetes

Mental Health

Action – Joanne to email Chris Hunter and Des Clark (Community Nurses

at Cairn Ryan) for a copy of the easy read document on Diabetes, then

circulate to the group.

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Any Other Business

Easy Read Information

Neil and David passed around some of their Easy

Read work to the group, they have been working on

some handouts with Mencap around various health issues.

Next meeting

To be confirmed