The Needs of Patients with Learning Disabilities Work Group

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We want to understand how best to engage with people with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers, to ensure their feedback and involvement helps develop proposals for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to ensure cancer services meet their needs.

If you would like to share your thoughts and ideas on involving people with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers in the development of proposals, or on how we could make changes or improvements to services, please contact us at engagement.east@nhs.net.

We have some meetings on Zoom and hope we will have face to face meetings in 2022.
You can email us at engagement.east@nhs.net or write to us at Charter House.
We can call you if you want to tell us your ideas by phone.


As part of the Mount Vernon Cancer Services Review, more than 100 online engagement events have been held with patients, families, support groups and stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard in the development of plans.

These events have identified some key themes for patients, families and local people which we have being exploring in more detail with patients and local people. We will keep doing this throughout the review and people can join a group at any time.

The Learning Disabilities and Autism patient, public and stakeholder work group will examine the needs of patients and carers with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers, and seek to understand how best to engage with them, hear their views and involve them in planning and designing services.

The group will provide advice and support to develop a programme of work to involve and engage those with Learning Disabilities and Autism, and families carers in the most appropriate way, supporting them to participate in all aspects of the review. Those with Learning Disabilities or Autism or experience of, or an interest in caring for patients with Learning Disabilities or Autism, are welcome to join.

Workshop Dates

Thursday 16 September 2021 at 18:30

Tuesday 16 November 2021 - this event has been cancelled due to low bookings and whilst some more detailed activity is planned, and will be replaced by a workshop in the new year. Please continue to contact us with any comments or ideas.

Following consideration of Government and NHS advice, and listening to the concerns of cancer patients, we have made the decision not to resume face to face engagement events at this stage. We will keep this decision under review but for the time being, all of our engagement activity will take place remotely, with most taking place online. If you would like to be involved but are unable to participate online, or prefer not to, please contact us by phone, email or post and we will make appropriate arrangements.

During online events, you will be encouraged to take part in the discussion and contribute your views, but do not need to share personal details of your experiences unless you choose to.

There will be a note taker who will write down your views and ideas, and the event will be recorded in case we need to go back and ensure we have fully captured your comments. The way the recording works is that only the person speaking can be seen. Sometimes people share a story that we would like to share with other members of the team. In that case, we will ask for written permission before we share it.

Unless otherwise advertised, events will be hosted by NHS England, who commissions the service, and is leading the review.

To book a place on this workshop, follow this link (external site)

You will receive confirmation of your booking by email, and a link to the event will be sent the day before it is due to be held. Please check your junk folders for an email from an nhs.net email address if you have not received it or contact us.

For further details please contact engagement.east@nhs.net

We want to understand how best to engage with people with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers, to ensure their feedback and involvement helps develop proposals for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to ensure cancer services meet their needs.

If you would like to share your thoughts and ideas on involving people with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers in the development of proposals, or on how we could make changes or improvements to services, please contact us at engagement.east@nhs.net.

We have some meetings on Zoom and hope we will have face to face meetings in 2022.
You can email us at engagement.east@nhs.net or write to us at Charter House.
We can call you if you want to tell us your ideas by phone.


As part of the Mount Vernon Cancer Services Review, more than 100 online engagement events have been held with patients, families, support groups and stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard in the development of plans.

These events have identified some key themes for patients, families and local people which we have being exploring in more detail with patients and local people. We will keep doing this throughout the review and people can join a group at any time.

The Learning Disabilities and Autism patient, public and stakeholder work group will examine the needs of patients and carers with Learning Disabilities and Autism, their families and carers, and seek to understand how best to engage with them, hear their views and involve them in planning and designing services.

The group will provide advice and support to develop a programme of work to involve and engage those with Learning Disabilities and Autism, and families carers in the most appropriate way, supporting them to participate in all aspects of the review. Those with Learning Disabilities or Autism or experience of, or an interest in caring for patients with Learning Disabilities or Autism, are welcome to join.

Workshop Dates

Thursday 16 September 2021 at 18:30

Tuesday 16 November 2021 - this event has been cancelled due to low bookings and whilst some more detailed activity is planned, and will be replaced by a workshop in the new year. Please continue to contact us with any comments or ideas.

Following consideration of Government and NHS advice, and listening to the concerns of cancer patients, we have made the decision not to resume face to face engagement events at this stage. We will keep this decision under review but for the time being, all of our engagement activity will take place remotely, with most taking place online. If you would like to be involved but are unable to participate online, or prefer not to, please contact us by phone, email or post and we will make appropriate arrangements.

During online events, you will be encouraged to take part in the discussion and contribute your views, but do not need to share personal details of your experiences unless you choose to.

There will be a note taker who will write down your views and ideas, and the event will be recorded in case we need to go back and ensure we have fully captured your comments. The way the recording works is that only the person speaking can be seen. Sometimes people share a story that we would like to share with other members of the team. In that case, we will ask for written permission before we share it.

Unless otherwise advertised, events will be hosted by NHS England, who commissions the service, and is leading the review.

To book a place on this workshop, follow this link (external site)

You will receive confirmation of your booking by email, and a link to the event will be sent the day before it is due to be held. Please check your junk folders for an email from an nhs.net email address if you have not received it or contact us.

For further details please contact engagement.east@nhs.net

Page last updated: 12 Nov 2021, 11:23 AM