Presentation from Hertfordshire Foundation Partnership Trust - one of the partners working with NHS Improving Quality on the Winterbourne Medicines Programme Presentation from the Winterbourne Medicines Programme Launch held in London on 10 September 2014 Ensuring safe, appropriate and optimised use of medication for people with learning disabilities who demonstrate behaviour that can challenge

1. Our services
• The Learning Disability service stream provides
specialist health care to adults with learning disabilities
in North Essex. This is a population of approximately
100,000. The teams are configured across two teams in
the East and West of North Essex
• Psychiatrists, psychologists, arts therapists and nursing
staff are employed by Hertfordshire Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust. The speech and language therapists,
occupational therapists, physiotherapists and dieticians
are employed by the health provider ACE (Anglian
community Enterprise).

2. Our services
• There is an Intensive Support Team that also provides a
service out of hours and on the weekends. This team
acts as a specialist resource to the community LD
teams, act as a gatekeeper for proposed admissions to
in-patient services and facilitate and support effective
discharge from the in-patient services.
• In-patient specialist learning disability assessment and
treatment and recovery beds at hospital in Colchester.
There are currently 4 assessment and treatment beds ,
with the proviso to go up to 6 when the need arises .
There are four beds for rehabilitation unit at Lexden
hospital site.

3. Current Issues
• To improve awareness and develop a greater
understanding of the issues around
medication with staff and patients/carers
• Medication prescribing is appropriate and
optimised.

4. End Point
• The aspiration is that medication is used as a
last resort and other methods of intervention
are utilised before resorting to medication
when treating people with challenging
behaviour

5. Quotes
• Carer: Please don’t reduce the tablets, as Mr X
will be very difficult to manage without them
• Patient: How long do I have to take the tablets
for and will I have any side effects?