Resources

We have a range of resources which explore the work of the network and good practices within learning disability services.
Our resources include reports, newsletters and information about the network’s standards which are reviewed and updated periodically. 

The Second Edition Standards for Community Learning Disability Services were published in December 2021.

We believe that it is important our standards reflect the issues that make a difference to the experience of the person using the service. For this reason, the standards follow a pathway through care and include how the service communicates with people accessing the service, their carers and other agencies.

The full set of standards and criteria is aspirational, and it is unlikely that any service would meet all of them. Therefore, each standard is categorised at one of two levels:

  • Type 1: criteria relating to patient safety, rights, dignity, the law and fundamentals of care, including the provision of evidence-based care and treatment;
  • Type 2: criteria that a service would be expected to meet.

Since community mental health services differ widely in their configuration and the models used, these standards focus on the function of a team in order to make them as widely accessible as possible.

How the standards are developed

The standards are developed in consultation with experts in the field and combine information from a variety of sources, such as:

CCQI Core Standards

The standards must incorporate the College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI) Core Standards. These are developed by our expert advisory groups, and have been refined in consultation with front-line staff, service users, carers, other interested groups such as national charities and professional bodies.

National requirements

We recognise that services are under increased pressure to demonstrate that they comply with national policies and guidelines. For this reason our standards incorporate requirements and recommendations set out nationally.

'Good practice principle'

We know that those who work in the field have the most comprehensive understanding of the issues and challenges that they face in providing high-quality care. For this reason, we consult with representatives from relevant disciplines to establish an expert consensus on what constitutes best quality care.

Research and other guidelines

We want our standards to reflect the most up to date published research and guidance on best practice. By incorporating these into our standards we hope that this will in turn help services to ensure they are continuing to maintain the highest level of care.

In 2023 we published a QNLD Newsletter.

This newsletter features: project updates, information about the QNLD project team and QNLD Carer representatives, insight from colleagues on their accreditation journey and on what it is like to be a peer reviewer and articles on recent quality improvement and research projects from members.

The project team are always looking for submissions for the next edition so if you have a project or innovation you would like to tell us about, please contact us.

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