Eighteen-year-old Jamie is autistic and has a moderate learning disability. He lives with his mum whilst attending a local college and stays with his dad at weekends and during the holidays. Jamie is supported by paid staff for a few hours a week to go out and about in the community – there are a lot of different people in his life.
Jamie feels safe around familiar faces and places. He can become anxious and agitated with people he doesn’t know, who do not understand his routines and needs, especially when in unfamiliar or busy, noisy surroundings.
Jamie requires a very specific diet. Whilst he has a wheat intolerance, he will seek out bread-based, particularly sweet, foods at any opportunity and cannot tolerate strong smelling or spicy foods. He will also only drink a particular fruit squash and nothing else - no other fluids, particularly any hot drinks which make him agitated and cross. He has been known to throw hot drinks when particularly agitated.
Jamie’s mum co-ordinates all his care needs and deals with all communication relating to his health and care. At Jamie’s annual health check with his GP, Jamie was offered to have additional information added to his Summary Care Record (SCR). As he could not consent, a best interest decision was made in consultation with his mum and additional information was automatically added from his GP record to his SCR. Jamie regularly sees a speech and language therapist and a dietician from the local learning disability team. These clinicians told Jamie and his mum about the Reasonable Adjustment Flag, and again a best interest decision was made to create a flag for Jamie. This would help to ensure his particular requirements are known and met when he needs support from different services (reasonable adjustments).
A flag was created which identifies key information - Jamie’s autism and learning disability, along with six specific adjustments.
The flag on the Spine contains key essential information with typically up to a “helping handful” of adjustments. Further detailed information is recorded in his local detailed care record and GP record (with corresponding information automatically added from his GP record to his SCR with additional information) and can be signposted from the flag. Jamie also has a hospital passport which contains useful information in relation to eating, drinking and other aspects of care and support including risk. A copy of the care passport is carried by Jamie's carers wherever he goes. In the future, a copy of a care passport could be available via the National Record Locator (NRL), alongside other information such as crisis plans.