Supporting people across the lifespan: the role of learning disability nurses
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Supporting people across the lifespan: the role of learning disability nurses

Ruth Northway Professor of learning disability nursing, University of South Wales School of Care Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Education, Pontypridd, University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Karen Cushing Second-year learning disability nursing student, University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Sharon Duffin Second-year learning disability student, University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Tyler Payne Second-year learning disability student, University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Pepsi Price Second-year learning disability student, University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Kevin Sutherland Second-year learning disability student, University of South Wales, Pontypridd

Strengthening the Commitment, the Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review, highlighted the importance of learning disability nurses providing support across the lifespan. This article describes an activity undertaken at the Living the Commitment Conference in Cardiff in November 2016, at which delegates were asked to identify the roles of learning disability nurses at different lifespan stages. The article examines the responses, which were thematically analysed, and highlights a range of support, some of which is provided across all lifespan stages, and some at specific periods. Responses also identified new and emerging roles across a range of settings, and the importance of influencing policy and commissioning of services. It is not possible to determine whether these roles are fulfilled across the UK, and the article recommends scoping these roles, and using the findings to inform development of learning disability nursing practice, education and research.

Learning Disability Practice. 20, 3, 22-27. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2017.e1841

Correspondence

ruth.northway@southwales.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 02 February 2017

Accepted: 23 March 2017

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