Editorial
| Published date | 07 November 2016 |
| Date | 07 November 2016 |
| Pages | 313-314 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-10-2016-0031 |
| Author | Eddie Chaplin |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
Eddie Chaplin
Welcome to the final edition of 2016. Our first article covers an area that is often not discussed or
acknowledged. That is, the reactions of people with profound intellectual disabilities (ID) to loss
and bereavement. It is in living memory that people assumed that everyone with ID was
incapable of experiencing feelings, emotions and poor mental health like those without ID.
People with profound ID who experience separation and loss, are unlikely to respond in a way
that is considered typical by the general population. There is an assumption by many that they
are immune from suffering following loss due to difficulty in conceptualising, therefore protected
from poor mental health. Currently there is a lack of knowledge into the mental health of people
with profound ID and how they respond to and deal with issues such as separation and loss. As a
result there is a lack of therapeutic direction and understanding of those who present with the
most complex needs. This state of affairs means that the needs of people with profound ID can
often be overlooked or not even acknowledged. The paper examines the evidence and puts
forward recommendations of interventions for bereavement support and helping people with
profound ID dealing with loss or separation.
Since the publication of a number of influential reports such as the Confidential Inquiry into the
deaths of people with ID (Heslop et al., 2013), equal treatment: closing the gap: a formal
investigation into physical health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and/
or mental health problems (Disability Rights Commission, 2006), Healthcare for All (Michaels,
2008) and Death by Indifference (Mencap, 2007) that have highlighted inequalities trying to
access healthcare; and the increased risk people with ID face in hospital, the need for increased
awareness by clinicians and the public has been identified as a priority. As a result there has been
an increased demand for training to address this issue. A fast emerging area is simulation training
which is being increasingly used to improve awareness and skills of staff. The next two papers
offer an insight into how simulation training is delivered in practice and has developed. These
papers illustrate the use of simulation to different audiences and some of the developments in
this area since the journal publi shed “Using a simulation exercise to d evelop staff competence
in a specialist inp atient service”(Hardy and Chaplin, 2010). The first article describes a
training programme that was designed to increase awareness by improving knowledge and
confidence of clinicians. This was part of a two phase educational strategy, in which the first
stage sought to map to e xisting programm es at undergradua te and post graduate level and
identify how improvements to the patient experience could be made. The second phase
concentrated on the delivery of training across a number of organisations as part of a cross-
agency partnership. The simulation was used in conjunction with eLearning, which was also
used to target large n umbers of staff outside of simu lation to increase awareness a nd also help
to prepare clinicia ns and staff undertak ing the simulation -based training. T he training was
coproduced and facilitated with people with ID and feedback was sought at the time of training
and also three months post training. Currently the project is undergoing evaluation, however,
the authors offer us an insigh t into the feedbac k so far and illustr ate the power of tra ining
delivered by peopl e with ID to shift opin ion on what people w ith ID can achieve and a re
capable of. Changes in attitude through increased awareness is also apparent in the second
simulation articl e. This second offer ing examines a traini ng pilot to medical st udents that was
produced and run by people with ID with support from advocates. Often it is still the case that
training focussing on ID is run solely by clinicians and when it training does involve people with
ID there is often little input from people with ID in its production. This paper provides an
important message. That is, not only does training from people with ID provide a better context
to the problems and is sues they face, but it changes a ttitudes and shifts opinion s for the better,
by letting the traine e focus on what people c an do. Whilst acknowl edging the anxiety o f
trainees who may har bour negative ste reotypes about pe ople with ID pre-tr aining. It is these
shifts in opinion an d increased aware ness that improve s confidence whil st helping build a
competent and capable workforce.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-10-2016-0031 VOL. 10 NO. 6 2016, pp.313-314, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
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Editorial
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