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“Reasonable adjustments” under the UK's Equality Act 2010 : An enquiry into the care and treatment to patients with intellectual disabilities in acute hospital settings
Author(s) -
Redley Marcus,
Lancaster Isabella,
Pitt Adam,
Holland Anthony,
Thompson Angela,
Bradley John R.,
Glover Gyles,
Thomson Karen,
Jones Sara,
Herbert Bernadette,
Holme Anita,
Clare Isabel C. H.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12623
Subject(s) - intellectual disability , thematic analysis , context (archaeology) , challenging behaviour , medicine , focus group , acute care , quality (philosophy) , nursing , psychology , health care , qualitative research , psychiatry , paleontology , social science , marketing , sociology , economics , business , biology , economic growth , philosophy , epistemology
Objectives To understand the views of qualified medical practitioners regarding “reasonable adjustments” and the quality of the care and treatment provided to adults with intellectual disabilities when admitted to acute hospitals as inpatients. Methods Semi‐structured interviews took place with 14 medical practitioners, seven from each of two acute hospitals, with a thematic analysis of the resulting data. Results All 14 medical practitioners reported problems in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with intellectual disabilities. Most participants attributed these difficulties to communication problems and/or behaviours that, in the context of a hospital ward, were non‐conforming. However, a minority reported that, because they were likely to have multiple comorbid health conditions, patients with intellectual disabilities were more complex. In addition, half of all these respondents reported making little use of “reasonable adjustments” introduced to improve the quality of the care received by this group of patients. Conclusions Medical practitioners should make better use of the “reasonable adjustments” introduced in the UK to address inequities in care and treatment received by patients with intellectual disabilities. However, training should also focus on the biomedical complexities often presented by these men and women.