Southampton Learning Disability Partnership Board

Hello,

I work for Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust and I am the manager of the Southampton Community Learning Disability (Health) Team.

The team is made up of nurses, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists and an art therapist - all people who understand the specific health problems that might affect a person with a learning disability. The team also has secretaries who are the people you will first talk to if you telephone the team office.

It is my job to make sure that everyone in the team works together to support people in getting their health needs met, either through direct work with a person with learning disability or by working in partnership with carers and/or others who can help.

People with a learning disability sometimes have more health needs than the general population and often have greater difficulty in getting access to health services. As a member of the Locality Implementation Group of the Partnership Board I am working with others to look at ways in which we can help people enjoy better health.

I have worked in learning disability health services for nearly 27 years and for much of this time as a member of community teams in either Southampton or the New Forest. I have been a health team manager for over 10 years now and I am currently working with colleagues to make a joint Health and Care Management service.