Kerry Anderson 

“I’m sure everyone says this, but even at a young age I knew I wanted to make a difference. I had placements at a school for children with additional support needs and already had a strong desire to advocate for those with a learning disability. A school friend was hoping to study children’s nursing and she had a brochure from a nursing college. Before flicking through that brochure, I hadn’t realised that learning disability nursing could be a job. Fast forward and it’s the career I’ve been doing for the last 28 years.”

“I’m based in NHS Grampian, but my role also covers Orkney and Shetland. There is one learning disability nurse on each island and as a consultant I provide them with professional support and act as an intermediary in clinical meetings and discussions. I am in a unique role where I can directly influence care.”

“Supporting and supervising nurses in practice, ensuring decisions align with our policy drivers and linking with acute and specialist services like end of life care and dementia, are all part of my role.”

“I’m confident that every learning disability nurse understands Sustaining the Commitment and together we discuss how their processes and practice tie in with this national framework. We have a voice in Scottish Government and it’s important for me to feed back on behalf of the staff and individuals we support. Recently we supported the development of bespoke vaccination programmes to ensure reasonable adjustments were considered to support people with a learning disability to be able to access their COVID vaccinations in person centred and safe way”

“Scottish Government has recently introduced an action to take forward Health Checks for people with a learning disability” The action is part of their Towards Transformation Plan for Scotland. A Health Check is like an MOT, we’re taking a proactive approach to screening for underlying health conditions, especially health needs that are preventable like early onset diabetes. It’s also an opportunity to make sure individuals are engaging with regular check-up invitations and preventative cancer screening programmes.”

“I feel so privileged to have been accepted on to the programme. One of the things I don’t do very well is to step back and think about what I’m doing for myself and taking the time to consider my own wellbeing. My cohort is made up of eight completely individual people, all from different areas and with different roles, and yet we share the same visions and values. I’m inspired by them and the collective difference we’re making through our shared issue for development.”

“I’ve already caught up with some local nurses nominated for the 2022 programme. I tell them that the best thing about the programme is that you feel prioritised. It’s an opportunity to refresh, to be yourself and treat yourself well.”

“In my role we speak about research and evidence-based practice, and I now appreciate this more deeply. I am able to analyse health inequalities and public health needs of people with a learning disability and communicate clearly why we’re taking each direction to address these.”