Staff experiences of using the community learning disability team-intensive support team referral pathway

A qualitative service evaluation was conducted to understand clinicians’ knowledge of the IST-CLDT referral pathway and explore experiences of using the pathway. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with staff members across the CLDT localities and IST to gain perspectives across different disciplines and teams. Thematic analysis was performed to discern the recurring experiences. Analysis revealed that clinician knowledge of the pathway was derived from experience as staff were largely unaware of policy and service guidelines. They spoke of a need for clearer documentation and increased communication amongst the teams. Staff recognised increased support from senior management was important. Good practice was highlighted where clinician decision-making was collaborative. Recommendations are provided to improve the existing referral pathways drawing upon the findings of the focus groups as well as from the dissemination and feedback sessions. Easy to read summary ■ This project looked at the referral pathway between The Intensive Support Team and the Community Learning Disability Service in Birmingham ■ A referral pathway is a way for patients to get the right care ■ Staff members were asked questions about how they understand and use the referral pathway ■ We found that: ◦ Staff need more information ◦ Teams need to talk to each other more ◦ Management needs to help more ■ We created a plan to make this better. We also thought about ways to get feedback from service users.