A new series of
accessible information leaflets for people with mental health
problems and learning disabilities is now available on the Royal
College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) website.
The leaflets have been produced by
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust in association with the
RCPsych’s Faculty of the Psychiatry of
Learning Disability.
There are 30 leaflets in the series. Some
leaflets provide general information on different mental health
problems: anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar
disorder, challenging behaviour, dementia, epilepsy and psychosis.
Others provide specific information on different types of
medications for dementia, depression, and psychosis and bipolar
disorder.
All the leaflets have been developed in
partnership with people with learning disabilities and their
carers. Each leaflet contains a ‘help and support’ section at the
end, which can be completed by the person providing the leaflet.
This can include contact details of their GP, Psychiatrist,
Community Nurse or any other professional involved in their
care.
Dr Sab Bhaumik, former chair of the
RCPsych Faculty of the Psychiatry of Learning Disability, said:
“Access to information is a basic human right. The importance of
providing information in a meaningful way to people with learning
disability cannot be over-emphasised. Services are recognising the
value of involving people with learning disability and their carers
in making decisions and expressing choice about the treatment and
care they receive. Providing information in an accessible format
promotes this engagement significantly.
“These information leaflets have been
developed by professionals working in learning disability in close
co-ordination and consultation with service users and carers at
every step. We hope that users, carers and services will benefit
from using these leaflets.”
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
Note to editors:
All the leaflets can be freely downloaded and printed from the RCPsych website: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/learningdisabilities.aspx