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VIDEO: Helping people with learning disabilities to save lives

Posted onPosted on 23rd May
VIDEO: Helping people with learning disabilities to save lives

Nurses and college students have created an innovative video to help people with learning disabilities identify symptoms of deadly infections

The community is being helped to recognise the signs of infection and sepsis in people with a learning disability to help prevent potentially avoidable deaths.

Lead Sepsis and Learning Disability nurses from Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, which runs King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton, and media students from West Nottinghamshire College, Mansfield, created the video. It shows some of the softer signs of deterioration that a person with a learning disability may show.

A recent report by the University of Bristol showed that respiratory infections and sepsis are the top causes of death in people with a learning disability. Many of these deaths are avoidable if the person, their carers or families are fully informed in an accessible format about these conditions.

Sepsis is when the body’s reaction to an infection damages its own organs and tissues. The video shows a student from the college who has autism acting out some of the symptoms that may show in someone who has a severe infection or sepsis.

The video has been made available nationally.

Specialist lead nurses at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Paula Evans and Ruth Harrison, said: “We know that there have been cases across the country that could have been avoided had people had access to information around spotting the signs of sepsis and being confident enough to escalate their concerns.”

The college’s employability and work placement co-ordinator, Julie Hough, said: “It’s been a huge privilege for the students to be asked to be involved in such an important project.

“Not only have they been able to implement their new acting, filming and editing skills, but they’ve increased their own knowledge of a healthcare setting and reaching out to vulnerable members of the community.

“We’ve seen great strides in their confidence.”

To watch the video click here