Help in hospital - Hospital passports

A man outside a hospital carrying his hospital passport

A hospital passport tells the hospital about your healthcare, your learning disability , how you like to communicate and how to make things easier for you.  

A man showing his hospital passport to a doctor

You can carry your hospital passport and show it to healthcare staff at the hospital.  

A man in a crowd of healthcare workers finding the right person he needs to help him

It can help you to get the care you need in an easier to understand way.  

A man taking a copy of his hospital passport

Hospital passports can get lost in hospital so it's a good idea to have more than one copy.

Get your hospital passport

To create your own hospital passport, download this hospital passport document, print it off and fill it in. 

Download passport
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Victoria's story of using her hospital passport

Watch our video about Victoria and how her hospital passport has made things easier for her.

Download hospital passport

If you have a problem with your health, it is important to get checked out

A young woman looking poorly with one hand on her head and another on her stomach

Some health problems can get worse if you don't get help quickly.

A woman sitting at a desk talking to her doctor

If you feel poorly you should go to the doctor's surgery.

They can find out if anything is wrong and get help for you.

Important! Join the learning disability register

A really important thing to do is make sure you are on the learning disability register .

This register gives you extra help at the doctors.

You’ll get invited to visit the doctor’s each year for a health check and get better access to vaccines. 

Find out more
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Getting extra help with your healthcare

A man scratching his head in confusion

Some people with a learning disability can find it harder to use healthcare services

A woman with Downs Syndrome in front of a group of healthcare professionals

Some people with a learning disability can find it harder to use healthcare services

A woman in a wheelchair surrounded by symbols of reasonable adjustments including a longer appointment time and an easy read document

You can ask doctors, nurses and healthcare staff to make things easier for you.

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Help at the doctors

Print out and fill in our free doctor letter. Give it to your doctor’s surgery next time you visit.

It shows what reasonable adjustments would make things easier for you.  

Download doctor letter
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Always tell healthcare workers that you have a learning disability

A woman with her palms to the sky and shrugging to show she doesn't understand

Healthcare workers may not know that you need extra support or have a learning disability 

A man explaining something to a group of healthcare workers

You may need to explain about your learning disability to a few different people 

A man showing a letter to his doctor

Show them your doctor’s letter or hospital passport.

It’s okay to remind people to look at it. 

A man explaining something to another man holding a piece of paper

Tell them if you need help or are finding something hard 

a woman in a wheelchair with her hand raised to ask for help

For example, I have a learning disability and need to bring someone to my appointment 

Ask to see a learning disability nurse

A group of four healthcare workers each with a letter spelling out HELP

All healthcare workers should be able to help you

A man with a flipchart training a group of healthcare workers

But some of them still need training about learning disability 

A nurse sitting at a desk with a patient

There is a special type of nurse called a learning disability nurse.  

Remember: Keep asking for help until you get it! 

Make sure to have your flu vaccine this winter.

Two people feeling ill in the winter

Some people with a learning disability are more likely to become seriously ill or die if they get the flu. 

A nurse giving a patient an injection

The best way to avoid getting flu is to have a flu vaccine, which is a free injection. 

Find out more.

 
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