Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for the Learning Disability and Autism Practitioner at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and will be based at the Southport and Ormskirk sites of the Trust. The successful applicant will be passionate about ensuring equitable access to our acute services for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
The post holder will work closely with acute hospital teams to ensure that people with a learning disability receive equitable, safe, and effective person-centred care during in-patient admissions or outpatient appointments. This is a varied and rewarding role requiring clinical knowledge, experience in liaison, acute or community learning disability nursing, and strong partnership working with acute services, primary care, community teams, and families.
The successful applicant will have a sound understanding of legislation including the Mental Capacity Act, Equality Act, and Care Act, and will demonstrate commitment to co-production and continuous improvement.
You must be able to work autonomously and prioritise your workload according to capacity and demand.
Interviews for this position will be held on Tuesday 20th January 2026.
Main duties of the job
You will be an expert practitioner to support acute hospital staff to meet the needs of people who have complex needs supporting hospital staff to make reasonable adjustments
You will act as a specialist advisor, improving understanding of complex communication needs, and ensuring person-centred care planning.
You will advocate for individuals and their families, championing best practice in inclusive health care
You will be contributing to risk assessments to prevent avoidable harm providing clinical advice around dysphagia, aspiration risk, falls prevention, pain assessment, and sensory needs.
You will act as a key contact for hospital staff, families, and community learning disability services, ensuring robust communication, discharge planning, and continuity of care.
You will participate in safeguarding processes, capacity assessments, best interest decision meetings, particularly where concerns arise around consent and best interest decisions.
You will attend meetings to promote access for people who have a learning disability and / or autistic people (i.e. promoting reasonable adjustments, hospital passports, champions).
You will maintain accurate clinical records, contribute to audits, and support quality improvement initiatives aligned with LeDeR learning and the NHS Long Term Plan.
You will contribute to and deliver training as required to acute hospital staff.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for the main responsibilities and requirements for this role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for the main responsibilities and requirements for this role.
Person Specification
Our Values
Essential
- We are Kind
- We are Open
- We are Inclusive
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse or Registered health professional Diploma/Degree level qualification
- Current professional Registration
- Evidence of continuous professional development relevant to the role
Desirable
- Teaching/training qualification or experience e.g., City & Guilds 7307/ENB 998 or equivalent
- Leadership training or qualification (minimum Level 4 ILM or equivalent) or equivalent experience
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Recent and extensive clinical knowledge of the needs of patients with Multiple Disabilities, Challenging Behavior, Mental Health concerns and Complex Health Needs.
- Recent and extensive experience of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working with people with Learning Disabilities and or autism
- Recent and extensive experience relating to supporting and safeguarding adults with Learning Disabilities and or autism
- Knowledge of relevant legislation e.g., Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberties safeguarding.
- Understanding of the health and social needs of people with learning disabilities and or autism
- Experience of supporting the development of strategy, guidelines, policy development
- Developing and delivering training programmes
- Knowledge of the current issues, including relevant legislation and practice, concerning people with learning disabilities and or autism
Skills
Essential
- Excellent and sensitive communication skills
- Ability to initiate, develop and maintain productive professional relationships with patients, families, carers and colleagues across healthcare
- Ability to teach others using variety of methods
- Ability to co-ordinate and liaise with multi-disciplinary team members, patients, families, and carers
Other
Essential
- Frequent concentration and ability to move from one activity to another at short notice in response to changing priorities
- Use of road transport between sites
Person Specification
Our Values
Essential
- We are Kind
- We are Open
- We are Inclusive
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse or Registered health professional Diploma/Degree level qualification
- Current professional Registration
- Evidence of continuous professional development relevant to the role
Desirable
- Teaching/training qualification or experience e.g., City & Guilds 7307/ENB 998 or equivalent
- Leadership training or qualification (minimum Level 4 ILM or equivalent) or equivalent experience
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Recent and extensive clinical knowledge of the needs of patients with Multiple Disabilities, Challenging Behavior, Mental Health concerns and Complex Health Needs.
- Recent and extensive experience of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working with people with Learning Disabilities and or autism
- Recent and extensive experience relating to supporting and safeguarding adults with Learning Disabilities and or autism
- Knowledge of relevant legislation e.g., Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberties safeguarding.
- Understanding of the health and social needs of people with learning disabilities and or autism
- Experience of supporting the development of strategy, guidelines, policy development
- Developing and delivering training programmes
- Knowledge of the current issues, including relevant legislation and practice, concerning people with learning disabilities and or autism
Skills
Essential
- Excellent and sensitive communication skills
- Ability to initiate, develop and maintain productive professional relationships with patients, families, carers and colleagues across healthcare
- Ability to teach others using variety of methods
- Ability to co-ordinate and liaise with multi-disciplinary team members, patients, families, and carers
Other
Essential
- Frequent concentration and ability to move from one activity to another at short notice in response to changing priorities
- Use of road transport between sites
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
