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Sarah Jackson

RNLD, BSc (Hons) Professional Studies (Forensic Issues), MSc Advanced Practice (Health and Social Care)

Forum Chair

Sarah is a Registered Nurse in Learning Disabilities, with a special interest in autism. She began working in NHS learning disability settings in 1999 and since then has carried out a variety of clinical, operational, and programme management roles with a focus on reducing health inequalities for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Sarah has been privileged to be part of several NHS England national programmes of work, such as the development of the National Autism Programme, ‘Ask, Listen, Do’, about feedback, concerns and complaints, ‘STOMP-STAMP’, and the development of Care, Education and Treatment Reviews.

In her current role, Sarah is a Consultant Nurse within Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, where she is the clinical lead for Specialist Autism Services, including Outreach, In-reach, Discharge Facilitation, and Children and Young People’s Autism-Intensive Support. These services have won HSJ Patient Safety Awards: Community Care Initiative of the Year 2022 and Mental Health Initiative of the Year 2023.

Sarah is co-chair of the UK Autism Consultant Nurse Network, which provides a platform for peer support, collaboration, and sharing of expertise. She is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Edge Hill University, supporting the Degree and Master’s Nursing Education Programme.

Amy Hodkin

Learning Disability Nurse and Social Worker

Forum Vice Chair

Amy Hodkin is a dual qualified Learning Disability Nurse and Social Worker and graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2016. She was a student representative for Strengthening the Commitment: The Report of the UK Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review which was a significantly positive experience for her me personally and professionally. She would like student learning disability nurses to be afforded similar opportunities and to ensure they feel seen and heard.

Amy has ADHD and is passionate about supporting others who are also neurodiverse. More recently she has become a parent/carer to two boys who are autistic and have learning disabilities, and would like to extend support to any RCN Members who are in a similar position.

In March 2023, she founded the Younghearts Soul Club and with the support of a team of volunteers ran a free fortnightly youth club for young people in her local area, ensuring that their holistic needs were met. Raising funds for community projects and charities is also something she enjoys and does this in her spare time. She believes it is very important to recognise all learning disability nurses that work within the NHS, the private sector and third sector.

As a trustee for Rationale Arts a charity that makes creative arts accessible for all young people, she is a strong advocate for innovative and inclusive ways of children, young people and adults achieving overall wellbeing and a good quality of life.

Her main background is working within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, where she has worked on inpatient wards, and within the Community Teams (Autism Support Clinic, Core CAMHS, Duty and Learning Disability CAMHS). In 2022 she won the Compassionate Care Award and firmly believes in compassionate leadership and enshrining this is in patient care, the workplace and within the world in general.

Currently, she is on secondment from Sheffield Children鈥檚 Hospital by South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Sheffield Hallam University as the Autism and Learning Disability Nurse Champion. Within this role, she has been focusing on raising awareness around Learning Disability Nursing, attracting people to the profession, supporting students, developing, and maintaining the workforce, co-production, strategic planning, service improvement and innovation.

Michelle Curran

Michelle has been a Registered Learning Disability Nurse since 1994 and holds additional qualifications including RNCYP, SPQ (Community Nursing), NMP, and MSc Advanced Professional Practice. She is currently employed as a Consultant Nurse for Learning Disability by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, where she provides strategic leadership and creates opportunities for nursing role development within the specialty.

She serves as Co-Chair of the UK Learning Disability Consultant Nurse Network and has been instrumental in establishing representation for Northern Ireland’s Consultant Nurses for Learning Disability at a national level.

Michelle is actively engaged in research at local, regional, and national levels, and has co-authored several publications in peer-reviewed nursing journals. In her consultant role, she promotes the integration of research into everyday evidence-based practice.

In collaboration with multidisciplinary colleagues, Michelle developed and co-delivered “Unlocking Abilities,” a training programme for mental health inpatient staff caring for people with learning disabilities. This work led to Belfast Trust becoming the first trust in Northern Ireland to participate in UK Learning Disability Benchmarking.

Michelle’s current interests include the development of a brain health programme and research into healthcare accessibility and equity for people with learning disabilities.

Scott Taylor

Registered Nurse

Scott is proud to be a Registered Learning Disability Nurse, based in Edinburgh working within NHS Lothian as a Nurse Consultant, and also as Co-chair of the Scottish Learning Disability Nurse Leads Group.

Previously he has worked with Edinburgh Napier University, Scottish Government, and NHS Fife on wide range of initiatives, projects and studies.

His current work activities stretch across the four practice pillars – expert practice, facilitating learning, leadership, and research. With a key focus being the annual health check, acute hospital services, service redesign, and building research capacity.

Having competed a SPQ, BSc, and MSc with Queen Margaret University, and further MSc with University of Stirling focused on the shared experiences of people with a learning disability and acute hospital nurses during care episodes; Scott is now working on several research projects.

Scott says "it is an honour to be a member of RCN Learning Disability Nurse Forum, which provides valuable opportunities to confirm, assert and develop the significant contribution we all bring to improve the health outcomes for people with a learning disability."

Claire Welch

Learning Disability Nurse, NHS Wales

Claire qualified as a RN(LD) in 2025 following a 30-year career in publishing and has written non-fiction books on crime, sports, the arts, history and steam trains. While studying for a nursing degree Claire was co-winner of the RCN Wales, Nursing Student Award at The Nurse of the Year awards (2024), for her outreach work with Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the University of South Wales promoting learning disability nursing in schools and colleges across the nation. She also took part in various other initiatives for the university including the Teaching Research and Advisory Committee (TRAC) supporting individuals with a learning disability and co-editing Learning Disability Nursing Link a quarterly newsletter offering news and advice to students.

Claire is dedicated to quality of life for individuals with a learning disability and fully believes in equity and equality across healthcare.

Katy Welsh

Professional Lead Learning Disability Nurse, Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Katy qualified as a Learning Disability Nurse in 1988 and since then, has held a number of different posts across learning disability services in Devon, including Community Nurse, Acute Liaison Nurse, Primary Care Liaison Nurse, Clinical Team Leader and her current post as Professional Lead Nurse.

Katy鈥檚 special interests are in relation to the physical health needs (and health inequalities) of people with learning disabilities. 

Katy is also a Queen鈥檚 Nurse and uses her professional networks to raise the profile of learning disability nursing at every opportunity. 

Katy is keen for learning disability nurses to celebrate and share the work they do and has organised several Learning Disability Nursing Forum events both locally and regionally to showcase and share best practice. 

Giselle Cope

Practice Development Facilitator, Foundation of Nursing Studies (FoNS)

Since Giselle qualified as a registered nurse in learning disabilities in 2000, her career portfolio has included working in various leadership positions within the NHS and Independent sector. Giselle currently works with individuals and teams within various programmes and bespoke mentorship offered by FoNS across health and social care. She also leads on learning disability nursing.

Giselle is programme director of FoNS' newest programme; The Creating Caring Cultures Fellowship for early career Learning Disability Nurses in England. She feels privileged to be able to empower, enable, and inspire others to put into practice improvements and innovations which can totally transform patient care and experience.