What happens when

• Before your 16th birthday parents/carers make most medical decisions but healthcare professionals will usually involve you.
• After your 16th birthday you will make your own medical decisions. You can always ask for help from adults you trust. ‘Ask 3 questions’ is one way to start
  • What are the treatment options?
  • What is good and about each choice?
  • How do I get support for me to decide about what is right for me?
• If you cannot make decisions and you are 16 or 17 your parents can make them for you.
• After your 18th birthday if you cannot make decisions talk to a professional about a mental capacity assessment. Watch our Mental Capacity film on YouTube.

• Each medical condition will need to be managed differently as you get older.
• You need to know and understand your medical condition as much as possible so you can keep yourself stay as well as possible. Watch Kendal, a children’s nurse talk about transition in a short film on YouTube.
• ‘Ask 3 questions’ is one way to start
  • What are the treatment options?
  • What is good and about each choice?
  • How do I get support for me to decide about what is right for me?
• Some may stop completely for example anxiety.
• Some may be managed well by you by taking your medication correctly and the support from your GP surgery. Ask what symptoms (red flags) mean you should get help for.
• For some medical conditions you may have had a paediatrician (hospital doctor for children) caring for you. They will usually stop looking after you before your 18th birthday. If you need healthcare after your 18th birthday talk to your paediatrician about who and where that will happen. It may be:
  • your GP
  • an adult community service for example physiotherapy
  • a specialist nurse for example epilepsy
  • a hospital consultant in Somerset A hospital consultant outside Somerset.

From the age of 14 you and your healthcare professional will start of talk about what support you may need as an adult. The transition planning paperwork which is available on request from transition@somerset.nhs.uk will help you.

If you have more than 1 long term health condition each will be managed differently when you become an adult.

In children’s healthcare one paediatrician will probably have supported you in managing all of them. When you turn 18 each of your medical conditions will be considered separately.

Each of your medical conditions will have a different transition pathway.

For example, one medical condition may be supported by your GP, another medical condition may be supported by a community therapist and another medical condition may be supported by a hospital consultant. Your GP will work with all of them. Before you turn 18 ask your children’s healthcare professionals to write a transition plan for each medical condition so you understand what will happen in the future.

• At any age your GP surgery can help you. Watch our short film by Kate, a GP who talks about how a GP can help you more in the future on YouTube.
• After your 14th birthday you can ask your GP surgery for a yearly health check. Find out more information about this on the Learning Disability Register leaflet.
• Before your 16th birthday parents or carers make most medical decisions but healthcare professionals will usually involve you.
• After your 16th birthday you will make your own medical decisions. You can always ask for help from adults you trust.
• If you cannot make decisions and you are 16 or 17 your parents can make them for you.
  After your 18th birthday if you cannot make decisions talk to a professional about a mental capacity assessment. Watch our Mental Capacity film on YouTube for more information.
• If you are going to Musgrove or Yeovil hospital for an appointment or operation and need extra help contact:
  • Musgrove Park Hospital Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm 07825 193 448 or email: learningdisabilityliaison@somersetft.nhs.uk
  • Yeovil Hospital Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm 07584 115218 or email lee.summers@somersetft.nhs.uk
• After your 18th birthday if you need extra help with healthcare you may be able to get it from the Learning Disabilities Specialist Health Team. Talk to a healthcare professional who will email CTALDHealthReferrals@SomersetFT.nhs.uk. Watch our learning disabilities short film on YouTube for more information.
• Please speak to your medical professional about making a Health or Hospital passport.

• Most Children’s hospitals will stop looking after you before your 18th birthday, many at 16.
• Ask your paediatrician if you will need healthcare in the future including symptoms (red flags) that mean you should get help for.
• If you need healthcare in the future ask who will provide it. Talk through Form C “Your Transition Plan” and ask to meet the new healthcare professionals before you transfer to them. Watch our short film about Kendal, a children’s nurse talk about transition on YouTube.
• For some medical conditions your healthcare team may use Ready Steady Go Transition paperwork.

• You have a social worker who will support you until you move to Somerset Carer Leavers service after your 18th birthday.
• Somerset Care leavers service will help you until you are 25 years old. You will have a Leaving Care worker 17 ½ – 25 years old.

• A young person with SEND may or may not have a social worker. If a young person is likely to needs support from adult social care when they turn 18 years, a referral form can be completed from the age of 14. The referral form can be completed by the young person, family or any professional, further information and the referral form can be found on the Local Offer of Somerset Council website.
• Following a Care Act assessment appropriate services will be considered to meet the young person’s assessed eligibly needs – this could be a range of different services and may not necessarily need to be paid services. Watch our short film about Emily from preparing for adulthood (PFA) talk about her work with young people and their parent carers on YouTube.