You can access key documents and resources produced or compiled by the Health Facilitation Team by clicking here.
What we do
We work with everyday health services to reduce the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities in Gloucestershire. It is important that good healthcare is given by health professionals such as GPs, dentists and hospitals, as well as specialist learning disability services. We help them to understand the needs of people with learning disabilities. We also help people with learning disabilities to take charge of their health and lead healthier, happier lives.
Our Health Facilitation Team help ensure people with learning disabilities have access to primary and secondary health services in order to maintain their health and reduce identified health inequalities.
- Enabling access to all health services
- Working in partnership with learning disability community services, partner organizations and family carers to provide a source of accessible information, advice and training around reasonable adjustments and health inequalities awareness
- Identifying and recording health actions for health action plans
- Identifying and meeting health education needs
- Monitoring health outcomes through an effective review system
- Supporting complaints or concerns
- Reporting service deficits which limit health improvement
The key function of Health Facilitators in learning disabilities is as educators. It is vital that advice and education is available, particularly for those staff within mainstream services who may have spent little or no time with a person who has a learning disability.
The responsibility for maintaining the health of the person with a learning disability ultimately lies with the person responsible for their care. The Health Facilitator can provide paid and unpaid carers with education to increase their knowledge of health prevention and promotion and how to access appropriate health care.
The Health Facilitator acts as a bridge between specialist and generic services, and is in a good position to ensure that health action planning and health is given high priority within the person centred plan.
Health Facilitators also assist in helping to identify practice populations. They work closely with Primary Health Care Teams to develop practice registers of people with learning disabilities and will also feed into the county-wide Learning Disabilities Register when it is established.
Big Health Check Day
Every year Big Health Check Day takes place in Gloucester. The day gives people with learning disabilities, as well as their friends, families and carers, the chance to learn about living a healthy lifestyle, and find out about the advice and support available.