Case study: the impact of the HEF on one man’s life

Supplied by the Community Learning Disability Team in Kent who have been awarded funding from Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex to undertake a Data Intelligence Review and Health Equalities Framework (HEF) Validation Project. The project aims to better understand the current and future needs of people with learning disabilities in Kent.

As part of the Data Intelligence Review Project, the team worked with Mr C, a young autistic man with a moderate learning disability. Recently he had lost weight, often did not want to eat and frequently skipped meals; he did not engage in any formal activities, often appeared thoughtful and worried and had been diagnosed with depression; his medication had not been regularly reviewed, he had not had a health check, and had no health action plan or hospital passport. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, his baseline HEF assessment showed that he scored highly on exposure to all the determinants of health inequalities.

The team worked to reduce Mr C’s exposure to health inequalities by developing a communication passport, a pictorial health action plan, a hospital passport and person centred plans to meet his specific needs.

Once Mr C was equipped with easy read information, he was able to understand depression and his medication which, with support, enabled him to make changes to his lifestyle to support the management of his depression, including joining a local walking group, developing a healthy eating plan and learning how to practice relaxation. Thanks to these changes, Mr C reported that his mood significantly improved and he has been supported to develop a relapse prevention plan. These are regularly reviewed at appointments as is his medication. His routine tests are now up to date and he has had a health check with his doctor. On discharge, Mr C’s HEF profile showed that his exposure to the determinants of health inequalities had dramatically reduced.