Staff recognised that patients with Autism or Learning Disabilities struggled with the unpredictable environment in the Emergency Department, so developed an idea to create care bags for these patients.
The pilot scheme started in Leeds in May 2022, thanks to funding from Leeds Hospitals Charity and benefitted over 250 eligible patients, helping to combat the health inequalities they can face.
The tote bags contain sensory items, including noise cancelling headphones, as well as items to help occupy and distract patients, like stress balls and colouring books. Patients are also provided with information about the hospital in an accessible format, and a visible tag so clinical staff can refer them to the acute liaison team.
23-year-old Kai Retalic from East End Park benefitted from a care bag, he spoke to us about how this helped him:
“I came into A&E after having an epileptic fit and spent several days in hospital. I was given one of the care bags and I love it, it has things like ear defenders and a stress ball to help me feel less anxious in a stressful environment. If I had to come into hospital again, I would definitely bring the bag with me as it would really help me cope.”
Following the success of the initiative, pioneered by LTHT, the team applied for additional funding from Leeds Hospitals Charity to roll out the project across even more departments.
Now, the care packs are available across all acute hospital departments for patients with learning disabilities and autism, with an average of 30 bags being given out a week, amounting to around 1,500 a year.
The initiative received Highly Commended in the Breaking Barriers category at the National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards in June, shortlisted to the final 14 out of a whopping 6,000 nominations. It was also the runner up at the PENNA (Patient Experience Network) Awards.
Alison Conyers, Lead Professional for Learning Disabilities and Autism at LTHT said:
“Our goal is for every patient with Autism, or with a Learning Disability, to be offered a care bag when coming into our hospitals, acutely. We know from patient feedback that these bags empower patients to support and manage their own environment and needs. Our team are so passionate about getting care right the first time, as this will help our patients build positive experiences of healthcare. These bags are a great example of this ethos in action.”
The initiative has been recognised nationally with 25 hospital trusts across the country implementing the scheme, collectively handing out over 6,000 bags.
Within Leeds Teaching Hospitals, other specialities are looking at how they can model this initiative to support a wider group of patients, including those with dementia or mental health needs.
Rebecca Baldaro-Booth, Head of Grants at Leeds Hospitals Charity said:
“When we were approached by the team to fund the pilot scheme for the bags in 2021, I thought it was an absolutely fantastic initiative that would help reduce health inequalities for patients who might find the hospital environment overwhelming. I’m delighted that the project was a success and has been able to expand to support even more patients. Leeds is setting the gold standard of tailored support and care for patients with learning disabilities and autism, which is now being adopted by hospital trusts up and down the country.”
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Our patients gave us the idea for the care bags when they told us that they were struggling in the Emergency Department. We recognised that there was a health inequality because people with a learning disability and autistic people were leaving and coming back to the Emergency Department more than other people were. We want to get care right the first time. We want people to be able to stay in the department for long enough to access the care and the treatment they need. People with learning disabilities and autistic people helped us to develop the care bags along with our colleagues who work in the Emergency Department. With the help of Leeds Hospitals Charity we started a pilot in 2022. A care bag is now offered to every autistic patient or patient with a learning disability who attends our Emergency Department or one of our acute areas.
When we were approached by the team in 2021 to fund a pilot project for the care bags I was really excited about this opportunity. Since the initial success of the pilot project Leeds Hospitals Charity has been able to extend the funding to roll out these care bags across different areas of the hospital. They’re now been used within the Emergency Departments, within the surgical assessment centre, and in the walk-in centre. Over 1,500 care bags have been used in different areas of Leeds Teaching Hospitals since the launch of this project.
We found that the bags have actually enabled the patients massively to be able to support themselves and manage their own needs. The staff also feel empowered – they can actually give these to the patient and it does help them to manage the patient’s anxiety. From such a small thing it makes a massive massive difference.
As soon as I see that I have a patient who is either autistic or has learning disabilities I’ll approach them, introduce myself, and I will see if they would be interested in one of our acute ED care bags that we have here. These bags are absolutely fantastic for patients with additional sensory needs who who may struggle with a sensory overload of been within an A&E department – just the little things like lights, noises, things like that, which these bags provide sometimes ear defenders, fidget spinners, fidget toys, colouring books, and lots of distraction methods which I found for my patients work really really well. And it also helps them feel a lot better and safe within our care.
Since the introduction of these bags we have shown a reduction in the Emergency Department reattendance within seven days rates for patients with a learning disability or autism diagnosis and the general population. We have also seen a reduction in the concerns raised by patients with a learning disability or autism who attend our departments.
The scheme has been nominated for several awards and recognised nationally. We know that this will be helpful for lots of patient groups so we’re working with colleagues in the Trust to support their innovation too.
Leeds is setting the gold standard for tailored care for patients with learning disabilities and autism, which has now been been adopted by hospitals up and down the country. Since the launch of the pilot in Leeds, over 19 hospitals have introduced these care bags for patients with learning disabilities and autism. We’re really excited to be able to fund this project. It aligns with our priority to tackle health inequalities for patients here in Leeds.
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