Learning Disabilities Nursing

People with learning disabilities are among the most vulnerable and excluded in society. Learning disabilities nurses have a unique role in supporting people, their families and carers to achieve and maintain good health, wellbeing and their full potential. They work to break down barriers that may prevent participation in society, or result in health inequalities or ill health.

This award is open to individual registered learning disability nurses or learning disability nurse teams working in acute or community settings, in the NHS or independent sector. Entrants must be able to demonstrate the benefits of their work in terms of evidence-based, person-centred practice sustaining health and improving quality of life.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Sustain and improve health and wellbeing
• Address issues of health inequalities, reduced life expectancy and premature mortality
• Reduce and effectively manage risks
• Facilitate co-production, enable self-advocacy and family engagement and partnership
• Enable reasonable adjustments
• Improve team working and effectiveness
• Demonstrate positive health outcomes
• Promote social inclusion and participation in community activities
• Encourage equality of access to healthcare
• Increase independence and resilience
• Promote opportunities for people with learning disabilities to participate in service design or staff training
• Promote positive value base and reduce barriers

Each entry will be judged against the following criteria:

• Innovation: originality of the idea
• Value: impact of the initiative on care and/or service effectiveness
• Patient focus: evidence that person centred practice was central to the work.
• Collaboration: evidence of the involvement of other professionals, services and people who have learning disabilities and/or their families in the project
• Clinical effectiveness: data demonstrating how this initiative drives clinical enhancements and outcomes.
• Leadership: evidence of entrants championing their innovation in their organisation or more widely
• Adaptability: ideas that could be adapted for use elsewhere in entrants’ organisations or other organisations
• Sustainability: initiatives that can be embedded within organisations to operate without the input of the people who developed them 

N.B. While this is for registered learning disability nurses only, other nurses working innovatively with people who have learning disabilities are encouraged to apply in other relevant categories.

If you are shortlisted for this award, and with coronavirus conditions permitting, you will be invited to attend our Covid-19 secure offices to present to the judges on Wednesday 8 September 2021. The shortlist will be informed if there are any changes to the final judging process.

Take a look at what our 2019 winner had to say about winning this award:

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