Tuscany McCraw

I currently work as part of the liaison and diversion team within Bristol police custody suites and courts. As part of our role, we aim to support individuals with all vulnerabilities. This includes, people with learning disabilities, mental health needs, females and children. I support people through the early stages of criminal justice system pathway, refer them for appropriate health or social care or enable them to be diverted away from the criminal justice system into a more appropriate setting, if required. The majority of the role focuses on mental health. However, as a learning disability nurse I am able to offer individuals with learning disabilities or neuro-diverse conditions support through the criminal justice system. I am on hand to provide advice to colleagues regarding learning disabilities and how as a service we are able to meet people’s individual needs in a patient focused manner.

I am passionate to continue my work in being an advocate for individuals with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system. As a team, learning disability nurses are a minority, because the majority of the role focuses around mental health issues. Through this fellowship, I hope to be able to develop my skills in leadership to ensure I am able to further enhance my colleagues’ skill sets around learning disabilities and how to provide patient focused care to individuals within the criminal justice system. I am particularly interested in looking to further develop our accessible resources for people with learning disabilities in police custody and the courts.