The needs of people with mild learning disabilities within the Scottish criminal justice system: a qualitative study of healthcare perspectives
| Pages | 175-186 |
| Date | 14 December 2015 |
| Published date | 14 December 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-08-2015-0020 |
| Author | Fellex Mediseni,Michael Brown |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour |
The needs of people with mild learning
disabilities within the Scottish criminal
justice system: a qualitative study of
healthcare perspectives
Fellex Mediseni and Michael Brown
Fellex Mediseni is Registered
Nurse and Post Graduate
Student at Specialist Learning
Disability Services, NHS
Lothian, Scotland, UK and
the University of Manchester,
Manchester, UK.
Michael Brown is Professor and
Nurse Consultant at the Health
and Social Care Research,
School of Nursing, Midwifery
and Social Care, Edinburgh
Napier University, Edinburgh,
UK and Specialist Learning
Disability Services, NHS
Lothian, Scotland, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The Purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the views and experiences of specialist
learning disability (LD) health service professionals regarding the management of and support offered to
people with LD when they come into contact with the Scottish criminal justice system (CJS).
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative design was adopted for this study due to the limited
existing evidence in the area and the need to start to build and develop understanding of the phenomena
under study. A purposive sampling procedure was used to selectparticipants from an accessible population
within one Scottish NHS Health Literature review, qualitative research, semi-structured interviews and
thematic analysis.
Findings –The findings identified three key themes challenges in practice; the need for additional resources;
and the ability of services to provide management and support.
Originality/value –The findings serve to contribute to the understanding of the role and contributions
made by and required from specialist LD health services to manage and support people with LD in the
Scottish CJS.
Keywords Multidisciplinary teams, Criminal justice system, Learning disabilities,
Communication difficulties, Mental health tribunal, Support management
Paper type Research paper
Introduction and background
The Same as You, published in 2000 by the Scottish Government, was Scotland’s policy for the
care and support of people with learning disabilities (LD) that promoted the vision of service
transformation to enable people with LD to lead inclusive lives in their communities, including
recommending the closure of all long stay institutions. In 2013 the Scottish Government
published The Keys to Life, which set out the Government’s priorities for the next ten years, with
recommendation 48 requiring professionals to provide support for people with LD within the
Scottish criminal justice system (CJS). At the centre of this support from a health service
perspective are specialist LD healthcare professionals with a range of practice backgrounds and
experience, including psychiatry, clinical psychology, nursing and the allied health professions.
Their support and management roles for patients within their services are guided by
the concepts of empowerment, involvement in decisions about treatment and care and the
opportunity to participate. These principles also apply throughout the journey of a person with LD
through the CJS. Yet, little is known about the views and experiences of specialist LD healthcare
Received 11 August 2015
Revised 16 October 2015
4 November 2015
Accepted 9 November 2015
DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-08-2015-0020 VOL. 6 NO. 3/4 2015, pp.175-186, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824
j
JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
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PAGE175
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