Involving people with intellectual disabilities in the assessment of healthcare professionals
| Pages | 362-369 |
| Published date | 28 October 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-04-2014-0011 |
| Date | 28 October 2014 |
| Author | Sujata Soni,Ian Hall,Phill Doulton,Peter Bowie |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Accounting education |
Involving people with intellectual disabilities
in the assessment of healthcare
professionals
Sujata Soni, Ian Hall, Phill Doulton and Peter Bowie
Dr Sujata Soni is a Trainee
Psychiatrist and Dr Ian Hall is a
Consultant Psychiatrist, both
are based at Tower Hamlets
Community Learning Disability
Service, East London NHS
Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Phill Doulton is a Director,
based at Professional Role
Players Ltd, London, UK.
Dr Peter Bowie is a Chief
Examiner, based at Royal
College of Psychiatrists,
London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose – It is widely recognised that people with intellectual disabilities receive a poorer quality
of healthcare than their non-disabled counterparts. Training for healthcare professionals in intellectual
disability is often scant or non-existent. The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness
of employing actors with intellectual disabilities as simulated patients in the assessment of trainee
psychiatrists.
Design/methodology/approach – The development of a structured clinical exam “station”designed to
assess the ability of trainee psychiatrists to communicate with a simulated patient played by an actor with an
intellectual disability is described. The paper also assesses the potential benefits of this kind of assessment
and the experience of actors and examiners taking part in this process.
Findings – The station was found to perform well in discriminating between candidates of various abilities
and was well received by actors, examiners and observers. The station is now routinely used in the formal
assessment of trainee psychiatrists.
Practical implications – The use of people with intellectual disabilities in training and assessment
appears to be advantageous in terms of improving knowledge, attitudes and skills amongst healthcare
professionals and gives increased opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to undertake
valued social roles.
Originality/value – Few institutions currently employ actors with intellectual disabilities as simulated
patients as part of their training programmes and as a result there is little in the way of literature on this
subject. This paper describes an alternative approach to teaching and assessment which falls in line with
recommendations from the Department of Health to involve service users in the training of healthcare
professionals.
Keywords Training, Assessment, Intellectual disabilities, Simulated patient, Healthcare, Professionals
Paper type Research paper
Background
Healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities
The confidential inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities (CIPOLD,
2013) highlighted unacceptable inequalities in healthcare for this group and found that
37 per cent of deaths of people with intellectual disabilities could have been avoided. It followed
the publication of Death by indifference (Mencap, 2007), which exposed unequal healthcare
and institutional discrimination of people with intellectual disabilities within the NHS. The reports
emphasise the importance of good communication and sensitivity in interactions with people
with intellectual disabilities to enable prompt identification and treatment of health problems
as well as the necessity to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that people with intellectual
disabilities can benefit from the same level of care as those without.
PAGE 362
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ADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
VOL. 8 NO. 6 2014, pp. 362-369, CEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282 DOI 10.1108/AMHID-04-2014-0011
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