A calmer and more friendly environment for young patients with learning disabilities
Along with new videos for working with patients with learning disabilities, the Children’s Emergency Department at Whipps Cross invested some external funding to improve the environment of the department.
They recently installed a new interactive ceiling projector in the waiting area which is particularly useful for children with sensory needs.
Along with this, new ceiling lights have also helped make the patient rooms look calmer and more peaceful.
“I hope parents see that we are trying to improve patient care and experiences of young patients with learning disabilities,” says Amutha Anpananthar, paediatric emergency medicine consultant at the Children’s Emergency Department at Whipps Cross.
For her, it’s important that we raise awareness about this kind of patients as they can sometimes be forgotten.
“You definitely see one or two young patients a day coming through our Emergency Department with a disability so it’s even more important to remember their needs”.
“I’m a big advocate when it comes to young patients with learning disabilities. I think it’s the vulnerability of these children but also, we forget that the parents/carers can also feel very anxious.
“We want to make the experience of an A&E visit to be as pleasant as possible”.
Amutha added:
“If you can keep patients with learning disabilities as happy and calm as possible, their carers will also be happy, and the patients will also respond to any treatment or procedure better.”
Read more:
