Dear all
On Saturday the 21st of March we plan to run an open clinic for women with learning disabilities at Leicester General Hospital to have a cervical smear. We are running this project in conjunction with the colposcopy service. We are looking at different ways to increase the uptake of screening. This approach has recently seen a high level of success for women in the general population.
- We plan to meet with the ladies in January to provide an education and awareness session, this will be the start of helping the women to make an informed decision and understand the process and the risks of cervical cancer
- We will meet with them again in February to show them around the room and equipment at the Leicester General and to meet the team who will be doing the smear. We plan to run the clinic on a Saturday so that we can have exclusive use of the department and a suite of rooms and staff. We plan to make it a friendly relaxed environment where the women will be supported by ourselves and their carers and where they will also have peer support from the women they will have previously met at the January session
- We will also be available for 1:1 conversations and to answer any queries and questions leading up to the 21st of March to help the women and their carers continue the education and awareness
Do you know or support anyone with a learning disability who you think might be appropriate for this supported cervical screening project. Ideally the person needs to be thought to have capacity to consent, although this will be explored in the sessions we do with the women to help consent women on the 21st. They can be women who have never had a smear and think they might like to try or for women who have previously had one but not returned to general practice for any subsequent smears. Please let us know by no later than the last week of January in order for us to make contact and start the ball rolling. We will need to check with the persons GP as soon as their name is put forward that they are eligible/within the time frame for needing a smear
Kind Regards
Siouxie Nelson
Learning Disability Primary Care Liaison Nurse
Please note I work Tuesday -Friday
siouxie.nelson@leicspart.nhs.uk
Adult Learning Disability and Mental Health Directorate
Leicestershire Partnership Trust
Units 2 & 3
Bridge Park Road
674 Melton Road
Thurmaston
Leicester
LE4 8BL
