The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is to host the second in a series of talks discussing Learning Disability Nursing in Edinburgh.
The free event will take place at RCN Headquarters in Edinburgh at 5.30pm where audiences can view the exhibition “Care or Control?”. The exhibition narrates the journey of learning disability nursing over the last 150 years.
The panel of experts will discuss their personal accounts and day-to-day experiences.
Professor Michael Brown, Chair of the RCN Learning Disability Nursing Forum and Professor of Nursing, believes the event will attract a variety of people from new undergraduates to those interested in history, families and students alike.
Professor Brown said: “I will be sharing how things have positively changed from what it was like when I was a boy to you know, what it’s like now. I think that will be of interest to people.
“For me, the title – particularly the bit about control has real resonance for me, because I think I think it’s double-edged sword. I think, initially, people think “Oh, it’s about the control and subjugation of people with learning disabilities”. And I definitely think there’s elements of that.
“But I also think there’s a parallel issue of how the health workers the nurses were controlled within systems, which didn’t really enable them to use all their knowledge and skills that sometimes – I certainly felt caught up in constrained within a system.
“So I will certainly be talking about what that was like.”
Speaking of his experiences as a student will be a particular highlight for him as he will be joined by a panel of former students and friends.
He said: “I think the education that we got was really innovative of its time. I hope audiences will take away with them is how policy and practice, and service delivery have evolved and changed. But it’s a dynamic thing, that it’s not static, that change is constant. And that’s certainly been the case for health professionals that work with people with learning disabilities.”
- Confirmed panelists for the event include:
- Scott Taylor – Nurse Consultant – Learning Disabilities, NHS Lothian and Scottish Learning Disability Nursing Network Co-Chair,
- Mark Gallagher – Senior Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University,
- Sam Abdulla – Programme Lead for Learning Disabilities and Academic Lead for Practice Learning (Nursing) at Edinburgh Napier University,
- Kerry Anderson – Nurse Consultant – Learning Disability, NHS Grampian and Co-Chair of Scottish Learning Disability Lead Nurse Consultant Forum.
Professor Brown’s enthusiasm was palpable following the first talk in the series, which was conducted in London.
He said: “I think it was really interesting during the event in London, and I have been reflecting on what it will be like being brought to Scotland. How I’ve been a tiny catalyst perhaps for some of that change.”
Anyone can visit the exhibition at the RCN HQ, 42 South Oswald Road, EH9 2HH from 10-4pm Monday to Thursday. Organisers have requested for audience members of this event to book online.
Edinburgh-based journalist. Lover of radio and print.
