Introduction

Health care transitions can happen at any point in a young persons life, a change of circumstance may mean that the individual needs to start accessing new services. There is a common transition that happens when young people move from Adolescent services to Adult from 16 - 18. Guidance created by the current welsh government can be found here: https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-02/transition-handover-guidance-children-adult-services_2.pdf . The 2022 Transition and Handover guidance provides supportive resources that families may find helpful.

Guidelines produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2016 is a key piece of literature that families may find helpful. These can be found here: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng43

Getting a diagnosis

There are a variety of ways to begin the process of getting a diagnosis for a learning disability and autism, you can: approach your Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) at school, talk to your GP or contact your health/ education department at your local authority. The individual will need to go for assessments which could involve speech and language therapists, psychologists and council workers from health or social care.

In North Wales you can contact your registered GP or follow the link to the county teams: https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/services/hospital-services/neurodevelopmental/

Mencap have created a support page to help understand the process better : https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/diagnosis#:~:text=It%20is%20primarily%20delivered%20by,and%20how%20they%20will%20develop.

18+, Capacity and Hospitals

As young people begin to reach 18, it is important to recognise how this will impact their time in a hospital setting and the decision making around them. After an individual turns 18, they are assumed to have capacity and can make their own decisions. Everyone is assumed to have capacity unless assessed otherwise, please go to the legal transitions section in the hub for more information..

After 18, a young person becomes an adult and parents do not autmatically make final decisions on their healthcare. If families would like to support someone with their health decisions, they could consider Power of Attorney or becoming a Deputy. These processes are complex, discussing any planned actions with the appropriate professionals such as social workers, health consultants or solicitors can help families understand what is necessary. Please see our legal transitions page for more information.

There will be some changes when visiting a hospital environment after a young person turns 18. As mentioned above, the decision making will change, if the individual is assessed not to have capacity, it could go through a best-interest meeting – families should be consulted to understand their views on any decision being made. Patients will usually be treated in ailment specific ward i.e. respiratory or neurological wards, not paediatric wards after 18.

Most hospitals have an Acute Learning Disability Liaison Nursing team which families can contact on arrival at the hospital: they will have procedures in place to try to minimalize any distress. Please follow the link below for their contact details in North Wales:

https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/services/hospital-services/health-liaison-for-people-with-learning-disabilities/learning-disability-hospital-services/

 more information for in-patient support:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/learning-disabilities/going-into-hospital/

Health Checks

After the age of 18, young people with additional needs are entitled to get an annual health from their GP. This will be a meeting with your doctor to discuss your health situation and take a few tests. This is a helpful way to build rapport with your doctor and build evidence for any future benefits.  CC4LD (Conwy Connect for Learning DIsabilities) have a health project which supports our members to engage with their health network. Please follow this link to our webpage: https://www.conwy-connect.org.uk/health-check-champions