Supporting individuals with Learning Disabilities
It is important to us at CHFT Charity to make sure that we support ALL our patients. We are delighted to support our patients with Learning Disabilities by funding items that will benefit and impact their time in our Emergency Department. Our aim is to improve the quality of life for individuals with Learning Disabilities by raising awareness about important issues, fighting stigma and discrimination and raise funds for CHFT Charity to enable them to continue supporting this project.
Make a donation to this project
Each donation will help to support our patients and each £23 will be able to purchase another Care Bag.
A&E Care Bags
Your generous donations have funded A&E Care Bags. These Care Bags are for children, young people and adults with Learning Disabilites/Autism who would find waiting in Accident and Emergency difficult. The Care Bags can also support the patient whilst going through tests and investigations whilst in the department.
Items included inside each bag:
- Ear defenders
- Tactile objects
- Colouring book
- Crayons
- An easy read leaflet about A&E
The picture on the front of the care bag was designed by an individual who has a learnign disability/autism. The Trust held a ccompetition with our local self-advocates and Project Search. Roy Hayes expert by experience and Lead the Way Ambassador and a memeber of our Enhanced Learning Disability pathway group chose the winner!
The Care Bags will be launched on Monday 27th February 2023. Keep visiting our social media accounts to see a photograph of the individual who won the competition and feedback on how these bags have made a difference to our patients.
Without your kind donations to our Accident and Emergency Department, we wouldn't be able to fund initatives and projects like this one which will make a really big differrence. We would like to say a huge thank you to our amazing donors and supporters!
Our A&E colleagues would also like to say a huge thank you to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for sharing information about their care bags.
Our new Care Bags prove a hit on day one
The A&E Care Bags have already proven to enhance patient experience and care. We have received lots of positive feedback from patients and staff:
Jack, aged 6, has autism and was one of our first patients to receive a care bag whilst waiting in the busy A&E department.
Jack's mum, Sammy said: "Thank you so much for taking the time to complete a positive hospital visit with me and Jack this morning, it was such a great experience for us both. The care bag is fantastic with a lovely selection of sensory supporting toys, this would certainly help make a visit to hospital easier for neurodiverse families."
Amazing feedback
We are still receiving amazing amounts of feedback from patients and family members of individuals who use our A&E Care bags.
Just recently, a lady got in touch with us to tell us how impactful a bag was for her son, she said: "I was in A&E with my autistic son and he was overwhelmed and struggling, so they provided us with a sesnsory bag and it was amazing. It was a busy evening and he was really struggling. But as soon as he got the pack, he started to relax and calm down. It was really helpful. Thanks for all that you do!"
We are super glad that these items make a huge difference and we are thankful for recent donations that are helping us to continue this initiative.
