Here you will find the most important information you need when you come to one of our hospitals.
There are videos for you to watch, which give you more information about your hospital visit as well as other information that you can download and print off.
In order for us to help you as best we can, we ask that you complete one of the following before coming to hospital:
If you have Learning Disabilities — Hospital Passport (Editable PDF)
If you have Autism — Autism Health Passport (National Autistic Society)
Please bring this with you every time you come to hospital.
We treat many patients every year, both as inpatient and outpatient.
Inpatients stay on our wards, with over 1500 beds for our patients.
Outpatients come to the hospital and see out doctors or nurses for short appointments and then they go home.
If you are coming to our hospital as an outpatient, you will receive a letter from us informing you of where and when your appointment is.
If you need to call the hospital, please call the number for the hospital you want below, and a receptionist will help to direct your where you want to go:
If you want to speak to a specialist nurse for a learning disability or autism please use the contact details in the next section.
If you need to speak to a specialist nurse for a learning disability or autism, please contact 0300 443 0261 and follow the options for each hospital.
However, if you prefer to email for learning disability or autism support, please email their joint email address at mse.learningdisabilities@nhs.net or mse.autism@nhs.net.
If you have a diagnosis of Learning Disabilities and/or Autism then you may find it helpful to have a Hidden Disabilities Card. These cards are designed to help you convey your diagnosis and need for reasonable adjustments / support.
You can either create your own Sunflower Card by visiting https://hdsunflower.com/uk/make-it-your-own, or if you have an Autism diagnosis you can order an Autism Alert Card online at https://www.autism-anglia.org.uk/our-services/autism-alert-card.
Below you can click on the YouTube links to watch videos that will tell you more about different hospital treatments to help you prepare and understand what to expect when you come to hospital
Consent — visit https://www.youtube.com/embed/lEqi-7ubC_g to learn more about giving consent and what it means.
Accident and Emergency (A&E) — visit https://www.youtube.com/embed/7lGTqA-3mkQ to learn more about your visit to A&E, also known as the Emergency department (ED).
Visiting — visit https://www.youtube.com/embed/BdZ3864Adxw to see what you can expect when coming to one of our hospitals.
Sepsis — visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOpIoDrZPM&feature=youtu.be to learn important information about sepsis or download our Sepsis easy read leaflet [pdf].
MRI — visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epb_j-HblLI to learn what happens during an MRI to easy any worries you may have.
Endoscopy — visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVcofESc6iA to find out about this hospital treatment.
Diagnostic text — visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbmDn1bkhZo to learn what this test is and how to prepare for it.
Frontline website/app - Frontline is a community project. It helps frontline workers and the public to quickly find details on local health and wellbeing services and to contact services through callback and referral options. Visit https://essexfrontline.org.uk to find out more.
EasyHealth website - the easyhealth website has lots of health information that is easy to understand. Visit https://www.easyhealth.org.uk for more information.
Unhappy about your care - if you are unhappy with anything that happened during your visit to the hospital, we want you to tell us - we want to hear your views. Visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/giving-feedback-making-complaint-about-your-healthcare-easy-read.pdf to find out about making a complaint.
Reasonable adjustments are the changes the law says people or services must make so disabled people can use services as easily as everybody else. A simple reasonable adjustment can make a big difference to a person’s experience of quality and access to care and can help people with learning disabilities get better healthcare and live healthier and longer lives.
It is always preferrable that you make us aware of any required Reasonable Adjustments in advance of any appointments. However, for non-planned admissions, ensure you let a member of staff know early as possible if you require any reasonable adjustment.
Reasonable Adjustments can include:
More information on reasonable adjustments can be found by following the links below: