The Trust is committed to actively
promote equality of opportunity for all disabled people. The Trust
will work to ensure institutional systems do not discriminate, and
that the day to day experience of disabled people entering the
Trust as staff, patients, visitors or volunteers is positive.
The Trust also recognises that
disability is extremely diverse and that no one disabled person’s
experience is exactly the same as another. Our Disability Equality
Scheme seeks to ensure that the full spectrum of disability
issues is represented in our actions to promote disability equality
and remove the social and physical barriers faced by disabled
people.
Access and facilities
For
information about disabled parking, access, toileting and changing
facilities and to get a list of useful local contacts, download our
leaflet Caring for disabled visitors and
patients. All information on these pages can be made available
in large print or Braille on request - telephone 0118 322 8338 or
~
e-mail talktous@royalberkshire.nhsuk
Easy Read information
The Trust has also developed a range of Easy Read leaflets for
patients with communication difficulties.These include:
Getting help: where to get help
in hospital
Having a blood test in
hospital
Having an X-ray: what will
happen?
Having a scan: what happens when
you are ill and need a scan
Going to A&E: what happens when
you are ill and have to go to hospital
Going to CDU: what happens when you are
ill and have to go to hospital
Coming in for checks: having a
'pre-operative assessment'
Going into hospital: what happens
on admission
Having a general anaesthetic for an
operation or investigation
Washing your hands: keeping away
germs in hospital
Talk to us (easy read
version)
PALS (Patient Advice & Liaison
Service)
Please be aware that some of these Easy Read
leaflets take a while to open because of the photographs and
drawings in them.
If you would like to receive easy read
information on any test or treatment carried out at the Royal
Berkshire Hospital, please contact the Learning Disability
Co-ordinator.
Information about me
The hospital has put together a folder called
‘Information about me’. It was designed to be completed by carers
of people with learning disabilities or severe communication
problems, i.e. people who cannot communicate their needs and
problems. It is an A5 document that will stay with the patient or
carer and will indicate to staff some key information about the
person you are caring for if they are unable to communicate this
information themselves.
It includes information on communication, mobility, dietary and
continence requirements. Please ask staff for a copy if you haven’t
got one – it is also available from PALS.
Use the bleep
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we have listened to
people with learning/multiple disabilities and their carers, who
say that waiting, even a short length of time, can be frustrating
and make them even more anxious.
Because of this, we try to ‘fast track’ vulnerable people with
outpatient appointments through the system. Normally, patients with
learning/multiple disabilities will be seen at the beginning of
clinics or shortly after they arrive.
However, this may not always be possible. Sometimes, the clinic
may be unaware that the patient has learning/multiple disabilities.
And, sometimes, delays are unavoidable, due to emergencies and
staff being held up. When this happens, and a wait is inevitable,
the patient and their parent or carer can pick up a bleep from the
PALS Office (Level 2
behind Reception). The clinic reception will then make a note of
the bleep number and will bleep you when the doctor or nurse is
ready to see you.
This means you won’t have to stay in the clinic area but can use
the hospital facilities and other waiting areas (such as the
courtyard gardens) – but please don’t leave the hospital site.
If you would like to learn more about how the bleep system
works, contact PALS or
call the Learning Disabilities Co-ordinator on 0118 322 8159.
You can download this
information in the form of a leaflet Use the Bleep.
Adult changing facilities
There is an adult changing facility available in the Inpatient
Therapies department on Level 1 Battle Block between 8.40am and
4.00pm Monday to Friday. At weekends, public holidays and evenings,
access to the changing facility is available through Caversham Ward
(also on Level 1, Battle Block).
Senior Nurse/Learning Disability
Co-ordinator
The Trust has a senior nurse/learning disability
co-ordinator who can help you:
- access the hospital's
services
- ensure that any special needs are
met
- by providing a point of contact
for you within the hospital
Telephone 0118 322 8159 or ask a
member of staff to page the learning disability co-ordinator on 40498.
Information for carers
By carer, we mean someone who cares for or takes responsibility
for another person who needs help because of a disability, long
term condition or the effects of old age.
This can range from help for a few hours a week to around the clock
caring.
Arranging for the person you care for to go into hospital may
involve many practical arrangements. The leaflet Information for carers of people
coming into hospital aims to help you make sure that the person
you care for receives the right level of care while they are in
hospital. Information in the leaflet is given in a question and
answer format to cover most of the common concerns raised by
carers. If there is anything that you feel that is not covered in
the leaflet, please speak to the ward sister or contact PALS.
If you have a complaint about your NHS
treatment
ICAS (the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service) will listen
to you, give you information and help you to make a complaint.
Download their easy read leaflet here. Or you can talk to
someone from PALS or the Patient Relations Team. Talk to us (easy read
version) PALS (Patient Advice & Liaison
Service)
Safeguarding vulnerable adults
What to do if you think you or someone you
know may be being abused. A Reading Borough Council
easy read leaflet.
What to expect from your hospital
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have produced an easy read
leaflet on what to expect from your hospital. You can download it
here What to expect from your hospital
(Easy Read).
If you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve access
to services for people with disabilities, e-mail us at disability.equality@royalberkshire.nhs.uk