spectra 95

6 100 years of spectra | Issue 95 Celebration events are taking place across the country to raise awareness of the ever changing role of the learning disability nurse and celebrate the unique and positive contribution they make to their patients, the field of nursing and the wider community. The centenary recognises the award of the first national certificate for ‘mental deficiency nursing’ in 1919 by the Medico Psychological Association which was seen as official recognition for this distinct nursing role. Prior to this nursing care for children and adults with learning disabilities took place in private homes or in large institutions with huge variations in the standards of care. The national certificate came out of a desire to improve standards but also to control the growing number of private institutions which were springing up following the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, which recommended segregation and institutionalisation. The fact that early institutions were built around concepts of education and training meant that learning disability nurses had a multi- faceted role. Some would have had some basic training in bedside nursing but others would have learned teaching skills or how to pass on a trade. In 1931 the first text book was published, the Manual for Mental Deficiency Nurses – commonly known as ‘the green book’ – and in 1948 all institutions were brought into the NHS. By 1950 training was governed by the General Nursing Council and in later years there was a shift in the care and support for individuals with a learning disability from institutionalised hospitals to people living within their own localities and communities. Lunacy Act recommends asylums for ‘pauper’ lunatics with no clear distinction between mental health and learning disabilities 1842 First national certificate in ‘mental deficiency nursing’ awarded by the Medico Psychological Association 1919 Institutions and ‘colonies’ for learning disabilities brought into the new NHS, becoming hospitals 1948 2019 marks 100 years since the first learning disability nurses were registered in the United Kingdom. Historical images courtesy of University of Dundee Archive Services