Health

You will need to think about:

• getting enough exercise and eating the right food
• having someone to talk to
• having a health check
• seeing the same doctors
• your sexual health
• your passport to communicate your preferences at health appointments

What support might you need? You may need help:

• to support you to communicate with other people
• with how you behave
• with any difficulties you may have in dealing with your feelings (sometimes called your mental health)

Your GP will stay as your main point of contact for all health matters.

A GP is a family doctor who works in a surgery, either on their own or with other GPs. Your doctor deals with your general health and can refer you to clinics, hospitals and specialists when needed.

It’s a good idea to make sure that your GP records on their notes any special educational need or disability you have.

If you have a learning disability, ask the GP to put you on the Learning Disability Register. The surgery can then make reasonable adjustments when providing health care.

Reasonable adjustments are changes people must make so that someone with a disability can use or access something just as easily as everybody else.

Some examples of what a reasonable adjustment might be are:

• making sure there is wheelchair access
• having a ‘quiet’ waiting room
• providing easy read appointment letters
• giving priority appointments or first appointments
• longer appointments if more time is needed
• home visits if attending the surgery causes distress

The health service (NHS) provides lots of different health services.

Some services are there for everyone, like GPs. You can access your GP service by contacting them yourself.

Other services only help people who need specialist help. To access some of these specialist services you may need your GP to refer you to them.

You can find details of local health services and how to access them on the SEND directory.

You should work with your GP and health care workers to make sure your healthcare plan meets your health needs.

Your healthcare plan should clearly show the health support you need in all settings, including:

• hospital
• school
• home
• employment
• when you are in the community

The healthcare plan should show how you will receive your health support. It should say who are the main professionals involved in planning your transfer to adult health services. And name who is responsible for delivering your health care support when you become an adult.

Your healthcare plan should make sure that, as far as possible, you are supported to manage your own medical condition. And that you have plenty of time to meet all new staff so that you feel safe and confident with your new arrangements.

All healthcare plans need to be person-centred to you and your particular health needs.

Health needs include a variety of medical conditions such as:

• physical disabilities
• learning disabilities
• behavioural disabilities
• mental health
• life-limiting conditions

Your plan may involve some specialist health staff.

If you have a learning disability your GP should offer you an annual health check from age 14.

This is when a GP or nurse:

• carries out a general physical examination
• assesses emotional well-being and behaviour
• asks about lifestyle and diet
• reviews current medication
• checks whether any chronic illnesses (such as asthma or diabetes) are well managed
• reviews what other health professionals may be doing to care for you

The check is a chance for you to get used to visiting the doctor’s surgery on your own where appropriate

See learning disability health checks for more information.

The hospital services you access should start planning for your move from children’s to adults’ services from age 14.

Ask at the next hospital appointment about transition arrangements.

National guidance says this transition should:

• be led by a named worker, often a nurse, who will coordinate a teenager’s transition care and support
• be developmentally appropriate and consider a teenager’s capabilities and needs
• not be based on a rigid age threshold
• take place at a time of relative stability, for example, not at the same time as moving from school to college or during a health crisis
• be reviewed at least annually, different hospital departments do transition differently and at different times, although they should all follow the national guidelines for transition.

This is from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.