To flag or not to flag: Identification of children and young people with learning disabilities in English hospitals.
Charlotte Kenten, Jo Wray, Faith Gibson and 3 others
PMID 31095841WHAT IT FOUND
Across 24 English hospitals, 10 had a process to identify children with learning disabilities, and there was no consistent way to flag them or record reasonable adjustments.
Key findings
0110 of 24 hospitals had a process for identifying children and young people with learning disabilities, and there was no common or consistent approach.
02Most staff surveyed saw value in identifying and visibly flagging children with learning disabilities, but nearly half reported being routinely informed that a child in their care had a learning disability.
03Among clinical staff, nurses and healthcare assistants were more likely than allied health professionals to report being routinely informed about a child's learning disability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study reports only NHS staff perspectives; it did not include children, young people or parents. Two non-specialist hospital sites had no interviews. The interviews were limited to 30 to 45 minutes, which may have reduced depth. The sample was not designed to be proportionally representative of specialist and non-specialist hospitals. Pay band differences may not reflect experience with children who have learning disabilities. Staff confidence was self-reported, so the study cannot show that confidence equals accurate identification. The study describes processes and perceptions, not measured patient outcomes or adjustment delivery.
Declared interests
Funded by NIHR HS&DR; the authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read staff confidence as proof that children with learning disabilities are being correctly identified or that their reasonable adjustments are being delivered. The study reports staff perceptions and hospital processes, not measured identification accuracy or patient outcomes.