Hospital passport

Also called Health passport, Traffic light passport, This is me, Patient passport, All about me

A short document a ward reads in five minutes that tells the staff how you communicate, what you need, and what will go wrong if they guess.

What it is

A hospital passport is a short, personal document, usually a few pages, that a person takes into hospital so that staff who have never met them know what matters: how they communicate, how they show pain, what they can and cannot do for themselves, what frightens them, what medicines they take, who to contact. It was developed for people with a learning disability and is now used widely for autistic people, people with dementia and anyone whose communication a busy ward might miss.

It has no legal force of its own, but under the Accessible Information Standard in England and the Equality Act across Great Britain, the needs it records are ones a hospital must act on.

Who it can help

Anyone who cannot rely on explaining themselves to every new nurse, doctor and porter: people with a learning disability, autistic people, people who use AAC, people with dementia, people with aphasia, Deaf people. Also families and carers, who otherwise repeat the same information a dozen times and are not always there.

It is not a medical record and it does not replace one. And a passport in a drawer at home helps nobody: it has to travel with the person and be seen.

How it works

Most versions use a traffic light layout. Red: things the ward must know, such as how the person communicates, allergies, how they show pain, risks. Amber: things that matter to the person, such as how they take medication, eating and drinking, sensory needs, what calms them. Green: likes, dislikes, interests, the things that make a conversation possible. The person, with whoever knows them best, fills it in, and it is updated when things change.

On admission it goes to the nurse in charge, and a copy stays at the bedside. Most NHS trusts have a learning disability liaison nurse whose job includes making sure it is read and acted on.

Getting started

Download a template today; many NHS trusts and Mencap publish one, and any of them will do. Fill in the communication section first and in detail: what the person understands, how they say yes and no, what device or board they use, what a nurse should do while they are using it, and what a particular sound, movement or behaviour means. Add a photo of the board or a note that it lives on the phone.

Keep a copy in the hospital bag, one on the fridge, one on the phone. Tell the GP practice to add a flag saying a passport exists. If the person is admitted, hand it to the nurse in charge and ask for the learning disability liaison nurse by name. Review it every six months or after any change.

Where to get help

Mencap publishes guidance and templates and campaigns on hospital care for people with a learning disability. Alzheimer's Society publishes the "This is me" version for people with dementia. National Autistic Society has an autism version. NHS England sets the learning disability liaison expectations. See also communication in hospital and communication passport.