What does this service provide?

Who we are

We are a team of specialist nurses, allied health professionals, health facilitation practitioners and health facilitator assistants.

What we do

We support patients with a learning disability to ensure they have equal access to health care. This includes care both in the community and during any hospital stays.

Our health facilitators cover GP clinics in West Sussex, providing support for annual health checks, desensitisation for blood tests or vaccinations, support to attend the dentist or opticians or making decisions about care and treatment.

Our acute liaison nurses are based in East Surrey Hospital, Princess Royal Hospital, Worthing Hospital and St Richards Hospital. We also support the community hospitals – Crawley, Horsham, Queen Victoria, Bognor War Memorial, Salvington Lodge, Zachery Merton and Southlands. Our acute liaison nurses support patients with learning disabilities when they are admitted to hospital or attending for an appointment. This can include emergency admissions, surgical admissions, or outpatients.

We also ensure there is flexibility for patients with their appointment times, that there is easy read information available, and we liaise with family or carers to make sure they can be there to support the patient.

How can I access this service?

To access our service, patients need to meet the following criteria:

  • the patient has a diagnosed learning disability and is on the learning disability Qualities and Outcomes Framework (QOF) register, held by the GP
  • the patient is over 14 years old
  • the patient has a GP in West Sussex
  • the patient requires support to access health care

To provide support for patients already in hospital or going into hospital we do not need a referral form to be completed; please telephone us to inform of an admission, or planned admission.

Where can I access this service?

Contact details
Telephone: 01403 620 438
Opening hours

We are open Monday to Friday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

We are closed on weekends and bank holidays.

Get the best from your NHS

If you need advice about our services, facilities or staff, or would like to make a comment, please contact Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS).

Contact details

You can contact PALS by the following:

Telephone: 01273 242 292

Give feedback

Tell us what you think about our services, what we are good at, where we can improve, and what matters to you? All feedback will be shared anonymously wherever possible, but if you have any questions about this, please ask.

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