Who we are

The Community Learning Disability Team works with people who have learning disabilities and health conditions that need specialist care.

Our aim is to reduce health inequalities by helping people overcome barriers to good health.

What we do

We provide specialist health advice to people who have a learning disability, their carers, families and the wider health and social care community. Our team can provide community nursing care, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, vision and hearing support and speech and language therapy.

We provide therapeutic support for people with complex physical, behavioural and mental health needs. We work together with our alliance Kent County Council (KCC) and Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) as Kent Learning Disability Alliance supporting adults with learning disabilities.

Our services 

Community nursing

We work with people who have a learning disability and those with complex health needs to support their physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, mental and sexual health needs.

We provide link nursing to acute and primary care to facilitate reasonable adjustment and promote positive outcomes

We provide specialist nursing care and support individuals to access and understand other health care services, which support their wellbeing and social inclusion.

Occupational therapy

We work with adults with a learning disability and their networks to support and help overcome barriers, which stop them taking part in activities or occupations, that matter to them.

These can be essential day-to-day tasks, such as caring for themselves, work or leisure activities. We are specialist at adapting activities and environments to empower people to achieve their goals and engage fully in all aspects of their lives.

Physiotherapy

We work with people with learning disabilities and their families and carers to assess their physical abilities, develop care plans, create and provide resources and help to improve quality of life.

Our assessments look at a person’s mobility, postural care, respiratory needs and we help individuals with learning disabilities to gain independence, learn new skills and access mainstream services, where possible.

Vision and hearing support

The Vision and Hearing Team support people with a learning disability who are at increased risk of vision or hearing impairments. The service provides audiology screenings, visual/environmental assessments and person-centred support for people who have vision and hearing needs, or who are deafblind. The Vision and Hearing team’s goal is to ensure equal access for people with a learning disability to have good ear and eye checks.

Speech and language therapy

Speech and Language Therapy support people with communication difficulty. We assess people’s communication skills and provide support to enable people to understand and communicate more effectively. Our input includes assessment and advice, development of communication resources and training. We also provide specialist assessment of swallow function and try different ways to support people to eat and drink well.

Using our services

For some people using our services, consultations, examinations or procedures of any nature may be threatening or confusing. A chaperone, particularly one trusted by the person with learning disabilities, may be able to help them through this process. Please contact our team for more details.