News

Peggy Ahanon-Erhunmwunsee (above) hadn’t planned a career in nursing.

But her passion escorting children with learning disabilities (LD) on their school transport was clear to her sister, and she encouraged Peggy to train as an LD nurse.

She qualified last year and is now one of five specialist nurses working alongside our LD team (made up of four additional LD nurses) to help provide the best possible care for patients with learning disabilities.

Peggy said:

As LD champion on the ward, I care for LD patients, and I advise and support colleagues.

I never thought I could go to university, but I’m so glad I did because I love my job. I find it so fulfilling when patients thank me.

The work of Peggy, pictured above, caring for LD patient Allan Thompson, and her colleagues across our Trust has been recognised nationally in the Good Practice Compendium, which brings together examples of innovation and improvement through the NHS England Disability Improvement Standards.

We were praised for our work to integrate LD nurses across our hospitals, particularly in areas more likely to treat these patients, such as A&E and elderly care. We also have specialist nurses in our Palliative Care and Education teams.

In the past, we know we haven’t always got it right for patients with LD and additional needs, and employing specialist nurses like Peggy is helping to change that.

Lorenzo Carreon, Lead Nurse for Learning Disabilities and Autism, said:

We are unique in recruiting LD nurses for our wards. They look after all patients, and when an LD patient comes to their ward, they care for them alongside providing additional support. It’s also key that they share their specialist skills and knowledge with colleagues.

We’ve recognised we don’t get enough LD nurses joining us; we have a small number and we’re finding ways to increase this, including upskilling staff, particularly nurses. We also launched our LD career map in 2024 to help us ‘grow our own’ with specialist skills.

Traditionally, LD nurses can be community-based, so we’re bucking the trend by bringing them into our hospitals to improve care, while helping them progress their careers with us. (Pictured above is Penny supporting a colleague).

We’re working with partners at the University of East London on a pilot specialist module with adult nursing students in their final year; we’re also now offering more tailored training for staff, beginning with a small group with plans to expand.

Among the initiatives we’ve introduced to support LD patients are ‘good practice pathways’ to prompt staff to cater to each patient’s reasonable adjustments, such as quiet ‘sensory friendly’ areas; and tailored communication passports.

We’re also working to improve care for children with special educational needs and disabilities following a meeting with parents, alongside Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, where they described the difficulties they’d experienced bringing their children to hospital, often having to explain their child's needs repeatedly because information isn’t always shared.

We’ve introduced an action plan to address their concerns; read more in our news story.