Hospital care for young people with a learning disability

A photo of a young girl next to an adult woman with a wavy arrow between them pointing to the adult woman.

The information on this page is for people who will soon be adults.

This page will help young people with a learning disability to understand more about moving from children’s services to adult services.

A young girl in a wheelchair is sitting next to an adult woman in a wheelchair and there is a wavy arrow between them pointing towards the woman

Moving from children’s services to adult services is called transition .

Adult services are different from children's services and you may have more choices.

Child in a wheelchair with a doctor and other hospital staff outside a hospital building.

As a child you will be treated by staff who support children and usually in only one part of the hospital.

A patient lying on an X ray table with a member of hospital staff moving the x ray machine above them.

When you are an adult, you may go to different departments for different things.

This could be the x-ray department or the ENT department – Ear, Nose and Throat department.

Two hospital beds on a ward. One bed is being used by a male adult

The wards may be different and may be bigger and you may be with adults of all ages.

A doctor treating a patient who is sitting on a hospital bed

The departments you are treated in may look different to the ones you visited as a child.

A photograph of a young man asking a question and above him are some difficult words like mendacious

Staff may talk to you using words you may not understand.

It is important that you tell them if you don’t understand, so you can be supported in a better way.

A clock showing 20 minutes has an arrow over it showing more time. This is above a picture of a doctor talking to a patient

You may notice a difference in the time spent with you by hospital staff.

It may be less than when you were a child.

Remember that you can ask for a longer appointment.

A woman with Down's Syndrome stands in front of a team of people who can support her

When you are moving from children's services to adult services you will be able to talk to the transitions team or a learning disability nurse at the hospital.

A woman in a wheelchair talks to a doctor sitting opposite her

They can help by telling you what to expect.

They can help to make sure staff know about your health and your needs.

A young man pointing at the camera with a picture of four question marks behind him

When you are in hospital you have the right to make your own decisions but for some decisions you still may need support.

A woman holds a piece of paper whilst talking to someone at a table

Hospital staff should talk to you in a way that you can understand so that you can make decisions about your hospital care.

A woman with her arms open explaining something to a man

You can tell staff what needs to happen and what helped you when you were a child.

A doctor stands in front of two men and a woman. The doctor is talking.

Although hospital staff should talk to you first they may also talk to your family.

This may be to make sure you feel supported, and to check they know about what needs you have.

A woman in a wheelchair with a speech bubble that reads "I need..." with a clock, easy read page, and ramp representing reasonable adjustments.

The law says that if you have a disability it is your right to ask for things that will help you when in hospital.

This is called a reasonable adjustment.

A young woman reading an Easy Read booklet

An example of a reasonable adjustment would be giving you information in a way you can understand.

Each person is different and will need different reasonable adjustments.

See our Reasonable Adjustments Easy Read page.

A woman with a clip board and a man with a guide dog talking to her about his needs

It is important to tell the hospital what will help you.

You know yourself better than anyone else, and it is important that you or your family talk to hospital staff.

A man and woman visiting a man in hospital bed next to a clock

When you are an adult your parent may be asked to go home and may not be able to stay with you overnight.

You can ask for them to stay as a reasonable adjustment.

A man standing outside a hospital holding a Hospital Passport

Make sure hospital staff read your hospital passport.

This should tell people what helped you when you were in children's services and what will help you now.

A nurse is filling out a questionnaire for a man next to her who is sat up on a bed

The hospital passport will help to make sure things are not missed and you receive the right care and support.

A doctor is talking to a patient showing him his x ray and explaining things to him

It is important that you understand what happened when you were in hospital and what you should do now.

When you leave hospital if you don’t understand anything you should to talk to the hospital staff.

This Easy Read was first published by Mencap as a PDF in January 2021.#

It was created in partnership with NHS Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford People First as part of the Mencap Treat Me Well campaign.

This Easy Read page was last updated 16.04.2024.

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