Learning difficulties and autism: A health equality pilot

In 2016, a young man, Oliver McGowan, died after a severe reaction to medication. Oliver was 18 at the time and had mild cerebral palsy, partial seizures, and a mild learning disability. He also had high functioning autism. The medication caused his brain to swell severely and he died in intensive care. Oliver and his family had told medical staff that he had reacted badly to antipsychotic medication in the past.

Oliver's death highlighted the need for better training and awareness of health and social care providers and as a result the  Oliver McGowan Training on learning disabilities and autism was created.

After his death, Oliver’s mother Paula McGowan started the Oliver Campaign which ultimately led to the development of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on learning disabilities and autism; this training aims to create better awareness and understanding of those with learning disabilities and/or autism in health and social care providers.

The Project

I am pleased to lead on a project aiming to measure the impacts and costs associated with implementing the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training at the pre-registration stage and the implications that this has on:

a)  Prospective nurses and other healthcare professionals

b)  Future employers, educators

c)  NHS England and other relevant stakeholders.

More information on the project can be found here, at the official project page!

Working with my assistants Dr. Nathan Green, George Edward Ntow, and Nathan Squillante, the project aims to test if Oliver's mandatory training can make a change for health inequalities if introduced at the curricular of universities, and before becoming a nurse or midwife. The project funders and partners are Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy, Bucks New University and NHS England.

Through focus groups, in-depth interviews, and surveys, our initial findings indicate that BNU students who received Oliver’s training had an improved understanding of individuals with autism and learning disabilities as well as a greater understanding of the importance of listening to family members and reviewing patient passports. Additionally, students felt more able to deliver equitable care. There was also evidence that the students found the training useful and relevant to their future career goals. This indicates that students found the implementation of Oliver’s training at BNU to be worthwhile and an effective way to deliver the training.

Our initial findings indicate that trained BNU staff had a positive attitude shift towards learning disabilities and autism, and an improved perspective toward their ability to teach empathetic, informed approaches to their students. This indicates that the training has benefits for the university staff doing the training, once again demonstrating the training as a worthwhile investment by the university to support the Oliver McGowan training within the University in the pre-qualification stage.

The training providers indicated that the in-person training was the most effective format to deliver the training, but also indicated barriers such as time constraints and past trauma in participants.

Our initial findings from registered nurses and midwives showed that most applied their Oliver McGowan Training knowledge to their practice, and two-thirds believed that the training should be part of the pre-qualification stage for nursing/midwifery students.

For more detail on our preliminary findings, look out for our Interim Findings report coming soon! For the executive summary, check it out here!

We need your help

While Project Phase 1 looked at BNU students and staff who received the training, registered nurses and midwives who received the training, and Oliver McGowan training providers, Phase 2 will shift the target groups slightly in order to more effectively build a business case for implementing the training into the pre-qualifying curricula. To do this, we will additionally look at students and staff currently receiving the training, the trainers with lived experience themselves, the lead BNU trainer, training providers from other universities, and employers of nurses/midwives. With this input from higher-level stakeholders, we will be able to assess the impacts and costs associated with introducing the training into the university curriculum.

As we enter phase 2, we will continue looking for participants for our research. If you are:

●       A nurse or midwife who has received the Oliver McGowan Training

●       A current or potential Oliver McGowan Training Provider

●       A current or potential employer operating in the private, public, or voluntary sector who hires/has hired nurses/midwives who have received the Oliver McGowan Training

We are actively seeking your expertise and experience! Kindly participate in whichever of the three quick online surveys on Oliver’s Training apply to you:

●       Nurses/Midwives Survey

●       Training Provider/Educators Survey

●       Employer survey

YOU can help to enrich the training and overall outcomes of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on learning disabilities/autism among nurses and midwives. Please consider sharing this necessary research with your networks as well.