Learning Disability Specialist Community Service
The service works with service users, families, social care and health partners to enable adults with a learning disability living in Lincolnshire to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
We provide specialist health support to people with learning disabilities who require assessment and/or treatment for their physical or mental health, including Positive Behaviour Support for people with complex behavioural needs.
The informaton hosted on this webpage is targeted at professionals.
Services we provide
The service includes:
· A single point of access (SPA) for all referrals.· Three community hubs - multi-disciplinary teams which provide the whole range of specialist learning disability professions.· The Physical Health Liaison Team supports people with learning disabilities to access primary and secondary health services ensuring reasonable adjustments are considered.· County-wide community home assessment and treatment team.
Services we are not comissioned to provide:
· A diagnostic service for assessment of learning disabilities.· Support with learning difficulties i.e. dyspraxia, dyslexia.· Specialist health interventions for people with autism or ADHD who do not have a learning disability diagnosis.
Referrals
The service will work with adults over 18 who have a diagnosis of learning disability and associated physical and/or mental health needs who are registered with a Lincolnshire GP.
Please contact your local community learning disability hub team if you wish to discuss a referral. One of the team will be happy to go through the process with you and provide advice and guidance, including signposting to other appropriate services as required.
For routine non-urgent referrals, a referral form, with guidance, can be obtained from our website: www.lpft.nhs.uk/our-services/adults/learning-disabilities or via SPA.
For urgent referrals to the Enhanced Support and Liaison Service, contact can be made through SPA or directly to the team.
Contact details for the community hubs, Acute Liaison Nurses can be found on page 11.
Community Learning Disability Hubs
The service is provided in three hubs across Lincolnshire
- Beech House, Boston
- Sycamore Centre, Grantham (satellite office in Spalding)
- Unit 2, St George’s, Lincoln
We have three community hubs around the county which provide an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to supporting people with a learning disability. Each hub has specialist nurses, psychology, psychiatry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. Through an integrated team approach, and working in partnership with other organisations, we have a single assessment process to reduce how often people have to tell their story.
The hub team will discuss all referrals and allocate the appropriate professional to carry out an initial assessment and plan appropriate interventions.
Liason with health services
In each hub there are liaison staff for physical health. They will work with service users, their carers and health care professionals to ensure equal access to mainstream services, promoting the use of reasonable adjustments through liaison, consultation and training for other organisations.
Enhanced Support and Liaison Service
The Trust’s previous Community Home Assessment and Treatment Team (CHAT) and the Transforming Care Liaison Service (TCLS) have merged under the new Enhanced Support and Liaison Service.
They will provide seven days a week support between 8am and 8pm for people at risk of placement breakdown and/or hospital admission.
The team will also support people to access to psychiatry, psychology, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy to help tackle any specific issues they may have, or liaise with mainstream mental health services to support with reasonable adjustments and timely discharge.
By combining the two existing teams the Trust have been able to combine the skills , knowledge and expertise of both teams and provide a more robust and bespoke offer for autistic people or those with a learning disability who may be experiencing a crisis in their mental health.
Referrals can be made via email to lpft.
Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and post diagnostic support
We provide a diagnostic pathway for adult autism which follows NICE guidance. Referrals for diagnostic assessment should be made via our Single Point of Access (SPA) and are available for adults with learning disabilities. Once a referral is received, an initial triage document will be sent to the service user. This will then be considered at an Autism triage meeting and a letter will be sent which will confirm the outcome.
Should a further assessment be appropriate, the referral will be allocated to a specific professional who will contact the service user to arrange an appointment. We provide person-centred recommendations with our reports as well as a feedback session.
Feedback is sent to the referrer and onward referral to the post diagnostic team is considered. The post-diagnostic team will work with an autistic adult for up to 12 hours to support them to adjust to their diagnosis.
Learning Disability Specialist Community Service brochure
To download a copy please click here:
