Specialist Health Services
Commissioning health services for Calderdale
The NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (Calderdale CCG) are a group who work with disabled children and their families. It aims to give the very best healthcare.
For about Calderdale CCG, including nearest services and developments in the NHS, please visit: Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group .
Disabled Children’s Team
This team offers specialist support for children with very complex needs. The team’s learning disability nurses can provide assessment, advice and support on related health issues including continence, epilepsy and behaviour. The team can also arrange for occupational therapists to assess a child’s or young person’s needs for Specialist equipment.
To access support through the DCT, please contact:
- The Multi-Agency Screening Team (MAST).
- Phone: 01422 393336.
- Email: mastadmin@calderdale.gov.uk.
Learning Disability Services
Calderdale Adult Learning Disability Specialist Health Services Team
We provide specialist health support, advice and information for adults with a learning disability. We work together with other services you may use including:
- your doctor’s surgery;
- district nursing teams;
- adult social care;
- providers and carers;
- benefits;
- housing and tenancy support;
- specific support groups;
- education providers;
- dentists;
- other healthcare professionals.
How to contact us
Call or text 07795 884 879 and leave your name and contact number with a short message. Please note: messages are picked up at the beginning and end of each day.
Write to us at:
Annual Health Checks (if you are aged 14 and above)
You do not have to be ill to have this. Most people have one when they feel well.
To find out more:
- Visit: NHS Learning Disabilities Annual Health Check.
- Or to watch a video, visit: film about annual health checks for people with a learning disability.
If you are a young person and want an health check, contact either:
- Helen Shepherd, Senior Lead Nurse for Children and Young People (NHS Calderdale CCG) by email: helen.shepherd6@nhs.net.
- Sharon Eccles, Advance Nurse Practitioner (Calderdale Children’s Learning Disabilities Service) by email: Sharon.Eccles2@swyt.nhs.uk.
Parents and carers can find out about:
- GP learning disability registers;
- annual health checks:
- why they are important;
- and how you can support your child or young person to access the services that they are entitled to.
For more about this, please visit: GP annual health checks for children with learning disabilities.
Do you have a Vulnerable In-Patient (VIP) Passport?
If you are in an accident or you are taken ill, it can be very stressful. It can be hard to remember things that doctors and nurses need to know to help you. With a VIP passport, you can carry these important details with you, all the time.
If you need to go to hospital as an in-patient or out-patient, it can be given to the hospital staff. To find out more, visit: NHS – Learning Disabilities.
To apply for one, visit:
- NHS – VIP Hospital Passport.
- National Autistic Society – My Hospital Passport (for people with autism).
If you need to go to hospital
You may need more support to access hospital services as an in-patient or outpatient. For more details, visit: Learning disabilities (Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust).
Personal Health Budgets: purchasing your own medical/health care
Personal Health Budgets (PHB): purchasing your own medical/health care
If you get NHS continuing healthcare, you have the right to a PHB.
This is money to support a person’s identified health and well-being needs. These needs are planned and agreed between the person and their local NHS team.
It lets people with long-term conditions and disabilities have greater choice, flexibility and control over their healthcare and support.
For more about this, please visit: NHS England Personal Health Budgets .
You can also contact Helen Shepherd (Senior Lead Nurse CCG):
- Phone: 01422 307410.
- Email: helen.shepherd6@nhs.net.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England have done a study. This was on extending legal rights to have a personal health budget and integrated personal budget. To see what they said, visit: The right to a personal health budget/integrated personal budget (Easy Read version).
Specialist health services
In this section:
- Calderdale Children’s Learning Disability Service
- Physical development and walking
- Speech, language and communication
- Toileting
- Common referrals to professionals and services
Services include:
- Physiotherapy.
- Occupational therapy.
- Wheelchair services.
- Speech and language therapy.
- Children’s learning disability service.
Your health visitor, school nurse or GP can give you information about these services and help make a referral.
Calderdale Children’s Learning Disability Service
(Part of the Open Minds partnership.)
We work with children and young people from birth up to the age of 18, who have a:
- diagnosed learning disability:
- that impacts on their health and wellbeing;
- and whose needs cannot be met within universal/other specialist services.
- suspected learning disability with evidence of the young person having difficulties in their ability to:
- learn;
- communicate;
- and function independently across different settings due to a cognitive delay.
- severe physical disability.
- chronic or life-limiting illness, where there is an associated learning/physical disability.
We offer support for:
- Challenging behaviours towards self or others.
- Emotional problems.
- Eating issues.
- Sleep issues.
- Sensory issues.
- Relationships and sex education.
- Continence issues.
- Mental illness.
- Parenting – specific to the child’s learning disability.
We offer:
- Assessment.
- Biological, psychological and social assessments.
- Risk assessments.
- Functional analysis.
- Positive behaviour support plans.
- Cognitive assessments – to aid care and treatment.
- Sensory profiling – not specialist sensory integration.
Intervention:
- Positive behaviour support plans.
- Sleep training.
- Support with help from other organisations.
- Training and consultation.
- Psychological therapy.
- Individual and family interventions.
- Medication reviews.
We accept referrals from children, young people, parents, carers and professionals.
To make a referral please contact Calderdale First Point of Contact (FPOC) provided by Northpoint Wellbeing on 01422 300001.
Your GP may refer you to a paediatrician (a doctor who specialises in working with children). You can also be referred to the Rainbow Child Development Service (RCDS) at the Calderdale Royal Hospital. The RCDS offers multi-professional assessment and ongoing support as needed. This is for young (from birth to starting nursery; around 3 years old) children with complex needs.
Specialist health services can need an assessment and may not be available to everybody. Waiting lists may also be in place. If you are not eligible for a specific type of support, there could be another service that can help you.
Are you struggling to find the right help and support for your child? Please contact either:
- NHS 111 .
- or Unique Ways phone: 01422 343090.
Physical development and walking
You can discuss your child’s physical development with your child’s nursery, school teacher, health visitor or GP. You can also phone the Children’s Therapy team for advice on: 01422 261300.
A physiotherapist or occupational therapist may be able to suggest exercises to help improve your child’s stance, posture and movement. They also provide specialist assessments, advice and intervention, support for sensory sensitivity and referrals for equipment where needed. This includes:
- a range of chairs including major buggies;
- manual or powered chairs;
- and specialist seating systems from a specialist provider.
Other useful contacts:
- Scope. Covers several different disabilities, including cerebral palsy. Their Trendsetters project provides information by disabled young people for disabled young people aged 10 to 18. There is also advice and support for parents and carers.
- Shine (Northern region). Offers support for children and adults with spina bifida (and hydrocephalus) and their families/carers.
- Occupational Therapy for Dyspraxia. A local independent business providing Occupational Therapy for children and young adults with:
- motor skill;
- perceptual;
- self-help skills;
- or handwriting difficulties.
Services include assessments, treatment sessions, school visits and training and advice. Contact Nicky at the Wellbeing Centre, 2 Briggate, Elland, HX5 9DP:
- Mobile: 07845 777302.
- Email: nicky@ot4kidswithdcd.co.uk.
Speech, language and communication
All children develop differently! You can discuss your child’s communication with your child’s nursery, school teacher, health visitor or GP. You can also get advice and talk to the Speech and Language Therapy team, phone: 01422 261340.
Speech and Language Therapists provide specialist advice and intervention for children with communication and swallowing difficulties.
For more about this, please see: Children’s Therapy Services .
Speech Link Parent Portal
A fun, free website to help parents and school staff support their children while they are learning from home. The resources are updated regularly and you will find:
- games;
- activities;
- top tips
- and blogs all about speech, language and communication.
Toileting
- Calderdale Bladder & Bowel Service. A confidential specialist nurse-led team that cares for both adults and children in Calderdale with bladder and bowel problems.
- Changing Places . Find out where you can access local and national toilet/changing facilities with a height-adjustable changing bench and hoist. In Calderdale, these can be found at:
- OrangeBox Young People’s Centre. 10 Square Road, Halifax HX1 1QG. Phone: 01422 349422.
- Eureka! The National Children’s Museum. Discovery Road, Halifax HX1 2NE. Phone: 01422 330069.
- National Key Scheme (RADAR) . Offers disabled people independent access to toilets with a special key.
Common referrals to professionals and services
- Calderdale And Kirklees Wheelchair Service. Provide wheelchair assessment and service & repair for Calderdale:
- Phone: 01422 312729.
- Email: ellandwcs@rosscare.co.uk.
- Audiologists are experts in children’s hearing impairments and can provide any necessary advice and support.
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) . Offer expert advice on emotional and behavioural issues.
- Continence specialists give help and advice around continence issues. They could also be able to help you with the cost of continence pads and equipment.
- Dieticians are experts on food and nutrition. They can provide information and personalised plans to promote good health through healthy eating.
- Ophthalmologists are specialists in medical and surgical eye and vision care.
- Podiatrists are health care professionals who diagnose, treat and rehabilitate conditions of the feet and lower limbs.
Specialist health support
Children & Young People’s Continuing Care and Children’s Personal Health Budgets
A Continuing Care package is needed when a child or young person (up to their 18th birthday) has:
- very complex health needs that cannot be met by:
- a doctor’s surgery;
- hospital;
- within the community (where they have been instructed by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) or NHS England).
These needs can be the result of:
- a congenital (a condition you were born with) condition;
- a long-term or life-limiting illness;
- a life-threatening condition;
- a disability;
- the after-effects of serious illness or an injury.
The care package can be delivered by:
- A Complex Care trained care provider; with input from a Children’s Nurse. This is to support them with training, writing care plans and risk assessments.
- A personal assistant or team of personal assistants, if you get Direct Payments. Both care packages can be joined up together, which is called a Joint Personal Health Budget.
For more details, contact Helen Shepherd (Senior Lead Nurse, CCG):
- Phone: 01422 307410.
- Email: helen.shepherd6@nhs.net.
Children’s Hospice Care
They offer specialist respite and terminal care for children suffering from life-limiting conditions in a home-to-home environment. This enables families to stay together in peace, comfort and dignity.
For more about this, please read: 
Local children’s hospices [PDF 65KB].
National organisations for specialist support
- Whizz-Kidz . An expert, customer-centred and innovative approach to wheelchair provision, including Wheelchair skills training:
- Asthma Trust for Asthmatic Children. Unit 6, Waltham House, Clyde Street, Bingley, BD16 2NT, phone: 01274 491756. The Trust promotes the welfare of asthmatic children in the UK. They may also be able to provide a nebulizer for families on low incomes.
- Sleep disorders: Health visitors, community nurses, your GP or paediatrician can all offer advice about children and sleep. Also, visit: