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Learning disabilities

Our vision for learning disabilities stated:

The needs of people with learning disabilities will be recognised, understood and met across public services. They will experience the same choice and quality of care as the general population.

All healthcare services, working closely with social care, the independent sector and the wider community, will be dedicated to promoting maximum independence and quality of life for people with learning disabilities. Primary and secondary health services will understand the health vulnerabilities and risks of people with learning disabilities, offer effective health promotion advice, check their health regularly and offer care and treatment sensitively and effectively.

Specialist services will be offered in the community, as close to home as possible. They will be able to intervene in an emergency or crisis to help stabilise situations and offer increased support while it is needed.

 

Our priorities for change:

  • Work better with local authorities to better identify and address the needs of people with learning disabilities and ensure they have equal access to services.

  • Get commitment from all GP practices to actively identify and record patients with a learning disability on their registers

  • Give every patient with a learning disability an annual health check and a health action plan

  • Design joint children and adolescent mental health and learning disabilities services

  • Further develop specialist local learning disability teams, supported by crisis response and assertive outreach services to bring care closer to home

  • Build access to healthcare into contracts for residential and nursing homes

  • Complete the closure of NHS ‘campus’ beds by 2010 and move residents into more appropriate community settings.

 

Our evidence for change:

  • There are about 86,000 people with learning disabilities in the East Midlands and this is expected to increase by 11% by 2021.

  • They are more likely to have poorer health than the general population in such areas as heart and lung disease, epilepsy, sensory impairment, dental health, dementia, mental health problems and be more likely to be underweight or obese.

  • Often do not receive the same quality of care from health services as the general population and frequently find themselves living in over-institutionalised hospital/nursing care.

learning disabilities

Other useful links:

Check out how well learning disabilities services are performing on quality through the East Midlands Quality Observatory

Supporting patients with learning disabilities and their families when they go into hospital in Notts